


Baby Steps

by Inkandquills, writersstudy



Series: Roleplay Fics [1]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Baby Sanha, Baby Seongwoo, M/M, Roleplay Style, unsafe work conditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 21:16:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 50,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17516021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkandquills/pseuds/Inkandquills, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writersstudy/pseuds/writersstudy
Summary: The last thing Jinwoo needed when he climbed onto the bus after a long day of work was to sit next to a neat looking business man, or so he thought.





	Baby Steps

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the result of roleplay-style writing where Michelle (Inkandquills) and I (writersstudy) go back and forth from the perspectives of different characters. I am Jinwoo and she is Moonbin.

Jinwoo clambered onto the bus, Sanha held tightly in one arm and a cascade of grocery bags in the other. He slumped when he couldn’t find an open seat. His eyes lit upon a seat near the back, next to a tidy looking businessman. He made his way back there, doing his best to bounce Sanha. The toddler had come down with a cold and was feeling absolutely miserable. Finally, Jinwoo tumbled into the seat, muttering an apology to the man next to him.

Moonbin pulled his eyes away from the window to glance at the man who sat down next to him.  He nodded once and smiled softly at the toddler in his arms before turning back to the window with a soft sigh.  Today was one of the longest days he had in a long time, considering he had back to back meetings for the entirety of it, and Moonbin was desperately trying to ward of the headache he felt coming.  When he had his car he was able to be home from work in fifteen minutes, but unfortunately it was in the shop for a couple of days.

Jinwoo tried his best to hush Sanha once he got the baby settled on his lap, but it was no use. The second they stopped moving, the boy was crying loudly. Jinwoo laid him over his shoulder and patted his back, but it barely calmed Sanha at all.

Moonbin sighed again and closed his eyes as he leaned his head against the cool glass of the window.  He wasn’t surprised that the baby started crying, but of course the one day he was absolutely exhausted from work was the day he had to sit next to a loud toddler.  Looking down at his watch revealed he still had another twenty minutes on the bus, and Moonbin just hope it went faster than his day had.

Jinwoo didn’t want to leave his bags unattended, but he had no choice. He got up, bouncing Sanha gently in one arm, and started pacing a short area of the aisle. He grabbed onto a bar whenever they reached a stop, but it only set Sanha off again every time. Jinwoo was exhausted.

Moonbin turned around again when the man stood up in an attempt to calm the toddler down, but to no avail.  The man looked tired and the rest of the bus was beginning to get annoyed so Moonbin took a deep breath before talking quietly to the baby.  “Hey there buddy, what’s wrong?” he cooed when the bus came to its next stop, “Do you want to sit here so you can look out the window?” He had no idea how to calm the sobbing toddler down, but he hoped that offering the window would help.

Jinwoo smiled tightly to the suited stranger. “I’m so sorry, he’s been sick this week,” he said softly, trying to keep his own noise to a minimum, “I’m trying to keep him quiet, sorry for disturbing you.”

“Aw, are you not feeling good, bud?” Moonbin asked quietly.  He wasn’t really expecting an answer from the small baby, but he made small talk regardless.  “Please don’t apologize,” he said during his attention to the man. He looked absolutely exhausted and Moonbin could only assume how long his week had been.  “I’m not sure if he’ll sit with me, but I don’t mind taking him for a few minutes so you can sit down,” Moonbin offered slowly. If the toddler was being this uncooperative for his father, Moonbin doubted he’d sit with him, but he wanted to offer nonetheless.

“No, it’s okay, I only have,” Jinwoo glanced out the window, “five stops left.” As he said it, Sanha let out another wail. Jinwoo’s eyes closed and he took a deep breath before he started bouncing again.

“Are you sure?” Moonbin asked as he chewed his bottom lip.  He didn’t want to overstep any boundaries, but he couldn’t help feel sorry for the man.  Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a couple walking there small dog past the bus stop and turned his attention back to the baby.  “There’s a puppy walking outside. Do you want to come see the puppy?” he asked gently. Moonbin really didn’t know the first thing about calming a baby down, but he figured puppies were always a safe bet.  

Jinwoo was so tempted to hand Sanha off to the man just so he could sit down. He’d been on his feet for twelve hours straight, and he still had to trek half a mile up a hill with a squirming baby and ten pounds of groceries. If he wasn’t in public, he’d probably cry. As it was, Sanha wasn’t responding to either him or the stranger.

Moonbin frowned slightly when the baby didn’t answer.  He wasn’t very good with kids and wasn’t too upset that the toddler didn’t want to sit with him, but one last look at the man’s tired eyes gave him all the motivation he needed to do something.  “You need to sit down,” Moonbin said gently, “I can take him for a few minutes.” Slowly, he reached his arms out, and smiled softly at the stranger.

Jinwoo glanced down at the sobbing toddler in his arms and back at the man before passing Sanha over and dropping back into the seat. “Thank you so much,” he mumbled.

Moonbin smiled as he took the toddler into his arms.  He settled the baby on his lap, facing his father, and began bouncing his leg.  “I’m sorry you don’t feel good,” he whispered as he wiped the tears from baby’s cheeks with his thumb.  “I’m Moonbin. What’s your name?” he still wasn’t expecting an answer, but as long as the toddler didn’t start crying harder he wouldn’t be upset.

“Sanha,” Jinwoo mumbled. He leaned forward, resting his head against the empty seat back in front of him. He closed his eyes, taking just a moment to rest.

“Sanha,” Moonbin repeated, “I really like that name.”  He snuck a glance at the man and saw that he had his eyes closed, and made a mental note to wake him up when the bus came to their stop.  Turning his attention back to Sanha, Moonbin lowered his voice and continued to whisper to him, trying to keep him occupied while he continued to bounce his leg.  After a few minutes, he switched Sanha to his other leg and turned the toddler around so he was looking out the window and began pointing out the different animals and colors that flew by as the bus drove through the city.

Jinwoo wasn’t quite asleep. Fortunately, he had never been able to fall asleep easily in moving vehicles, plus the stranger’s voice kept him awake enough to make sure they didn’t miss their stop. At least Sanha was barely crying anymore. When the stop before theirs passed, he sat up and gathered his bags. “I owe you one, seriously,” he said to the man.

“It’s the least I could do,” Moonbin said, “you looked like you’ve had a long day and I’m just happy Sanha calmed down a little.”  He didn’t want to admit it, but he was almost sad he had to give the toddler back. Sanha was absolutely adorable, even if he was getting over a cold.  “I, uh, I didn’t catch your name though,” even though Moonbin doubted he’d ever see the man again, it would nice to at least know his name.

“Park Jinwoo,” the shorter man said as he stood up and took Sanha back into his arms. “But seriously, let me buy you a coffee someday.”

“I might just have to take you up on that offer, Jinwoo,” Moonbin said as he passed Sanha back to his father.  He was never one to refuse a cup of coffee, and he was certainly not opposed to seeing Jinwoo again.

Jinwoo looked up and noticed his stop approaching quickly. “I’m on this bus every night around seven and on the opposite bus every morning at six,” he said hurriedly before rushing for the front as the doors opened.

Moonbin didn’t even get a chance to wave goodbye to Sanha before their stop arrived.  He didn’t have to get to work quite that early, but didn’t mind staying late so that he could see Jinwoo on the later bus.  He sat back and soon enough it was his stop. Thanking the bus driver, he made the short walk to his apartment building and heaved a sigh of relief when he finally walked into his apartment.  After eating a quick dinner and showering even faster, Moonbin collapsed into bed. Despite his day being incredibly dreadful, he had to admit it didn’t end too horribly.

By the time Jinwoo made it back to his apartment, it was nearly nine o’clock. Leaving the groceries on the counter for later, he bathed Sanha, gave him his medicine, and did his best to lull him to sleep. It was no use. The boy was simply in too much pain. Jinwoo was starting to become concerned with how long this cold was lasting, but he couldn’t afford anything more than cough medicine for the poor baby.

Moonbin set his alarm for the morning and settled into bed.  His mind kept drifting back to the bus ride home and he smiled as he thought about playing with Sanha.  But his mind didn’t stop on the toddler, instead it focused itself on Jinwoo. Moonbin sighed and rolled over shaking the image of the shorter man from his mind.  He had a lot of work to do tomorrow and couldn’t afford to lose a good night’s rest. Once he got comfortable again, he fell asleep almost immediately.

Jinwoo finally managed to get Sanha to sleep around midnight. He still hadn’t eaten, but at that point he didn’t even want to get out of the rocking chair he’d situated himself in. He was grateful for the help he received from his best friend, but raising Sanha alone was still so difficult. Dongmin lived across the city and could only help out so much, and Jinwoo no longer spoke to his parents.

The piercing sound of the alarm cut through Moonbin’s dream early the next morning.  With a groan he rolled out of bed and dragged himself into the bathroom. Luckily he had enough time to eat breakfast for once, before heading out the door and catching the 7:30 bus to work.  He only had one meeting to worry about after lunch, but he had yesterday’s work to catch up on, on top of what he had to get done today. With a sigh he plopped himself down at his desk and got to work.

Jinwoo was out of bed at 5:30, getting himself ready quickly before packing up Sanha with all his things and heading down to the bus stop. He rode across the city, a fifteen minute trip, and dropped the baby with Dongmin before hopping on a subway to the outskirts of the city to get to work. Jinwoo was a factory worker and spent twelve hours a day, 6:30 to 6:30, on an assembly line.

Moonbin looked up at the clock and sighed when he saw it was four o’clock and he still had some more paperwork to finish.  Sighing he resigned himself to staying late and fired off a few emails before refocusing his attention on the tasks at hand.  They didn’t take long to finish but as soon as he began to pack up, his desk phone rang. After an hour long conversation with his project partner, he was finally free to go.  Another glance at his watch told him it was 6:30 and he was glad he would be able to make the seven o’clock bus so he could see Sanha and Jinwoo.

Jinwoo was gross and dirty when he finally left work. The machine he operated had malfunctioned and he’d had to fix it, meaning that he was covered in grease. While the malfunction wasn’t his fault, the holdup certainly was on account of the fact that he wasn’t a trained mechanic. They couldn’t hold him over time, so the cost of the lost time would be coming out of his paycheck instead. All in all, not a good day. He took the train back to Dongmin’s, who took one look at him and passed Sanha right over with instructions to go home and go to bed.

Moonbin boarded the bus and took a seat near the back.  He didn’t like the stares he got from strangers wondering why he of all people was taking the bus.  He settled himself in a window seat and took to staring at the people outside almost out of habit at this point.

Adjusting Sanha on his hip, Jinwoo climbed onto the bus. The boy was sucking on his thumb, which Jinwoo would normally switch out for a pacifier, but he didn’t have a clean one on him. Sighing tiredly, he slumped into the first empty seat he saw, which happened to be next to the same stranger from the day before.

Moonbin did a double take at the man who sat down next to him.  If it wasn’t for Sanha on his lap, he almost wouldn’t have recognized him.  Jinwoo looked even more tired than the day before and he was covered in what looked like grease.  “Feeling any better, Sanha?” he asked quietly as he turned away from the window to face the pair.

Jinwoo jumped when the man suddenly spoke. “He can’t talk yet,” he said quietly, “but he is. His fever seems to have finally broken at least.” He was glad that Sanha was getting better. Another day of illness and he didn’t know what he would’ve done.

“That’s good to hear,” Moonbin replied.  He watched the toddler for a few minutes before turning his attention back to the window with a soft sigh.  There were several questions on the tip of his tongue, but he wasn’t sure if the man was up for small talk right now.

“I owe you a coffee,” Jinwoo said after a moment. He rubbed a crease out of his forehead and  forced a smile up on his face. “And I never got your name.”

“It’s Moonbin,” he said with a soft smile as he fished his phone out of his pocket.  “As for coffee, I know of a great little cafe that’s about a five minute walk from your stop.”

“Perfect,” Jinwoo said as he absentmindedly rubbed Sanha’s back. Hopefully, Moonbin would drink his coffee quickly and they could part ways.

“Oh we don’t have to go tonight,” Moonbin said quickly.  He was sure Jinwoo would be tired no matter what day of the week they went, but today looked as if it was especially long.

“I don’t like owing people longer than necessary,” Jinwoo said, adjusting Sanha on his lap. The boy had finally let go of his thumb and Jinwoo pulled out a rag to clean it off. He thought better of it when he saw how dirty the rag was.

“If you insist,” Moonbin said slowly.  He watched Jinwoo pull a heavily used cloth out of his bag to clean Sanha off.  Instead of feeling disgusted, as many people would, Moonbin felt sorry for Jinwoo, he was obviously in a very tough situation.  He sighed internally, there was no way he could accept coffee from Jinwoo, even though the shop was reasonably priced, he still felt funny about it.

Jinwoo was glad that Moonbin hadn’t insisted on waiting until another day. He could honestly use the coffee right now, considering he still needed to stay up another few hours. Sanha whined in his lap and Jinwoo laid him over his shoulder.

Moonbin watched Sanha closely, half expecting him to burst into tears again, but he stayed quiet.  He kept sneaking glances at the pair, marveling at how Jinwoo was with the baby. Having kids had never particularly interested Moonbin, he was much too busy with his job, but he had to admit they were kinda cute.   Soon enough they were at their stop and Moonbin stood to follow Jinwoo off the bus.

Jinwoo made his way off the bus with Sanha in his arms and waited for Moonbin to join them. “Lead the way,” he said softly.

Moonbin nodded and began to strode down the street.  Quickly realizing he was taking much too big of strides, he slowed down and walked side by side with Jinwoo.  After a few blocks, he turned right and gestured to the small cafe situated on the far corner of the block. Reaching the door first, Moonbin stepped aside so Jinwoo could enter.  He had to admit the silence of the walk was a bit awkward, but he figured that Jinwoo didn’t mind the few minutes of relative peace and quiet.

Sanha had mostly fallen asleep on the walk to the cafe, for which Jinwoo was thankful. He thanked Moonbin for holding the door and immediately made a beeline for a table so he could set the infant down and rest his sore arms. “Here,” he said, pulling out his wallet and handing his debit card to Moonbin, “can you get me a black coffee with a shot of espresso?”

“Of course,” Moonbin said with wide eyes.  He made his way to the counter to order both of their coffees and a cup of water in case Sanha woke up.  With one quick glance over his shoulder to ensure Jinwoo wasn’t paying attention, Moonbin handed the barista his own card, foregoing a receipt.  Once the drinks were ready he brought them to the table and slipped into the seat across from Jinwoo. “Thank you,” he said quietly as he handed the debit card back.

Jinwoo took the drink and his card gratefully, too tired to even notice the lack of receipt. Settling Sanha on his lap, still asleep, he took the drink and downed half of it in one go, face scrunching at the bitterness. Hopefully it would hit him soon.

Moonbin took a sip of his own drink and hummed happily.  “What do you do for work?” Moonbin asked, keeping his voice down in hopes that Sanha would stay asleep.  He regretted the question as soon as it was out of his mouth, but it was his default small talk question.

“Factory work,” Jinwoo said shortly, trying to keep himself from yawning. He rubbed Sanha’s back with one hand and finished his coffee with the other. “You?”

“Wow, that’s tough work,” Moonbin commented, “I, um, I work in the management department of Astro Auto Parts Supplier here in the city.”   He cleared his throat and took another few sips of his drink. It wasn’t that he wasn’t proud his job, on the contrary he was quite happy with it, but felt almost embarrassed to admit it to Jinwoo.

Jinwoo’s eyebrows shot up. “I work for the same company,” he said, “in the manual labor department.”

“Oh no kidding,” Moonbin said, a hint of surprise taking over his voice, “what a small world.”  Taking the another few sips of his coffee, he placed the cup down on the table and allowed his eyes to wander to the sleeping toddler in Jinwoo’s lap.

Jinwoo nodded thoughtfully as he stared at his empty cup. A small world indeed.

“I don’t want to keep you if you would prefer to get home,” Moonbin said quietly, “it is getting late.”   He himself wouldn’t mind chatting more with Jinwoo, but he was sure the shorter man would much prefer to get home to take a shower and eat dinner.

“I can wait until you finish your coffee,” Jinwoo said with a small smile. This man was technically his boss and it would be in his best interest to be respectful.

As much as he wanted to, Moonbin knew it was best not to argue and instead took another sip of his drink.  “How old is Sanha?” he asked conversationally.

“A year and a half,” Jinwoo said, smiling down at the boy, “but he’s only been with me for a year.” Sanha wasn’t technically his; he was Jinwoo’s sister’s son, but he’d taken guardianship after his sister and her husband were killed in an accident.

“He’s only been with you for a year?” Moonbin asked furrowing his eyebrows.  “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry,” he added quickly as he dropped his eyes and took another large sip of his coffee.

“Sanha’s my nephew,” Jinwoo explained, “my sister’s son.” He didn’t want to explain the logistics of how the boy had ended up with him, but he would if asked.

Moonbin nodded, “ah, I see.”  As curious as he was to how Jinwoo had ended up with Sanha, he knew better than to ask.  “I’m glad he’s feeling a little bit better though,” he added. He was almost done with his coffee and could finish it in a few small sips.

“Yeah, his fever finally broke this morning,” Jinwoo said. He hoped it would be smooth sailing from here on out.

"That's good to hear," Moonbin said as he took the last sip of his drink.  "It was wonderful to talk to you and thank you again for the coffee," he added as he stood up and grabbed Jinwoo's empty cup to dispose of it as well.

“Of course,” Jinwoo said, bowing slightly as he stood and propped Sanha on his hip. He hoped the boy would stay awake for the entire walk home.

Moonbin threw away the two empty coffee cups before making his way towards the exit.  “I hope the rest of Sanha’s cold goes away soon,” he said.

“I hope so too,” Jinwoo said with a soft smile, “you know how to get home from here?” If Moonbin needed directions, Jinwoo would just gladly pay for a cab.

“Yes, I do.  Thank you,” Moonbin replied, he couldn’t help but smile at Jinwoo’s concern.  “Have a goodnight Jinwoo-ssi. I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

Jinwoo bowed slightly to Moonbin again before taking his leave and heading home with Sanha. He didn’t see Moonbin again for a few weeks, until he came through the factory with a group of company inspectors. Jinwoo had recently been moved to a line of furnaces and now had bandaged burns littered all over his arms. He sincerely hoped that the executive didn’t notice him.

Moonbin quickly made his way home and spent the next few weeks stuck in his same routine; until the day he was invited on an inspection of one of the factories.  He listened to the inspectors talk about what to look for, and what to not. Moonbin didn’t miss the sad looks and the litany of injures adorning each person’s face and arms as they walked by.  He had also completely forgotten Jinwoo worked for his company until he saw the shorter man working on the furnaces. Moonbin winced internally at the bandages covering his arms, but turned quickly away hoping he wouldn’t be spotted.

Jinwoo glared at the group of inspectors when their backs were turned. Some inspection it was when they were only there to make sure the conditions stayed as hazardous as possible. Even Moonbin didn’t seem fazed by the injuries everyone sported. With a sigh, Jinwoo picked up another piece of metal and shoved it into the oven, hissing as a jagged edge ripped open his palm.

Moonbin whipped around when he heard a cry of pain coming from the directions of the furnaces.  His eyes scanned the rows of people until they came to rest on Jinwoo clutching his hand. Against the oppositions of the inspectors, he quickly made his way over to Jinwoo, gasping when he saw the blood dripping from his palm.  “Come on, we need to get you out of here,” he said urgently.

“Do you want me to get fired?” Jinwoo hissed, stepping away from Moonbin, “no one leaves their post.” He turned away from the executive and shoved another piece of scrap metal into the furnace, doing his best to not wince.

“You can’t work like this.  There has to be someone here who can look at your hand.  That’s going to need stitches,” Moonbin said nervously. He barely noticed the other inspectors screaming his name, too focused on helping Jinwoo.

“You think they’re gonna stop the production line just to get a nurse? A guy _died_ on line last week and they didn’t even move him until shift was over. This is how you make your money, Moonbin-ssi.” Jinwoo turned away, too concerned about keeping his rates steady under the eye of the inspectors than his dripping hand.

Moonbin took a step back from Jinwoo, eyes wide.  Suddenly, a strong hand on his shoulder yanked him back towards the rest of the inspectors.  Taking one last look over his shoulder at Jinwoo, Moonbin was all but dragged out of the room.  He remained silent for the rest of the day, too angry at the conditions of the factor to dare open his mouth.

Once the inspectors were gone, Jinwoo grabbed a rag off of a side table and wrapped it around his hand. That would at least keep it from dripping for the next six hours of his shift. He could have Dongmin take a look at it when he went to pick up Sanha.

Moonbin was seething throughout the follow up meeting.  The inspectors were happily lying to the CEO about how conditions have never been better, production rates are up, and any other web they could spin.  Moonbin sat there with gritted teeth but kept his mouth closed until a comment about the workers seeming happy sent him over the edge. “They aren’t happy,” he snapped, barely containing his anger, “and they aren’t safe.  I witnessed a man slice his hand open today and _refuse_ to get treatment for fear of being fired.”  “Need we remind you who was the one who stepped into the workers’ space, against direct instruction not to?” one inspector replied flatly.  “A man was _killed_ last week an-,” Moonbin continued, but a strong glare from the CEO stopped him in his tracks.  “I highly recommend you don’t let the workers spin you tales to make you feel sorry for them. You’re lucky that worker ignored your request or you both would have been fired.”  With that Moonbin closed his mouth and sat back, ever the more irate at his boss and the company.

When the bell for the end of shift finally went off, Jinwoo was relieved to step away from the furnace for his overnight replacement. He had grabbed his things when the foreman suddenly pulled him aside. The man asked after his hand before asking what “Inspector Moon” had said to him. Jinwoo told him the truth and was allowed to leave. He hopped on a train and made his way back to Sanha.

Moonbin all but stormed out of the CEO’s office when the meeting was over.  He didn’t even stop by his desk, deciding that any extra work could wait until tomorrow.  All of the sudden, or at least it felt like it, he was walking into his apartment. He quickly shook his head and made his way to the bathroom to shower; too angry to even think about eating.

“Hyung, you’ll be lucky if this doesn’t get infected,” Dongmin said as he examined Jinwoo’s hand that night, “this really needs to be stitched up.” They both knew Jinwoo couldn’t afford that. Dongmin hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something else.

Moonbin eventually dragged himself out of the shower into the kitchen.  After having what could barely even constitute a snack he went to lay down.  He couldn’t stop thinking about the abysmal conditions of the factory and the blatant disregard the people he unfortunately had to call his colleagues had.  Lastly, his mind landed on Jinwoo, hand gushing blood from the large gash across his palm. Moonbin had no way to contact Jinwoo and his only hope at speaking with the factory worker was taking the late bus.  With a loud sigh he closed his eyes, making a mental note to stay late at the office the next day.

“I can’t, Dongmin-ah,” Jinwoo said when he heard what the younger wanted to do. He knew Sanha deserved to go to preschool, that he needed to be around kids his age, but Jinwoo simply couldn’t afford it, and Dongmin couldn’t afford to help. Not that Jinwoo would let him anyway.

Moonbin ran through ideas on how to improve the deplorable conditions in the factory, but was coming up empty.  Despite being an executive manager within the company, he didn’t have the seniority to be able to make much of a difference, especially considering he was the odd man out.  He eventually thought of drafting his resignation letter, but quickly scrapped that idea with a shake of his head. That wouldn’t help Jinwoo or the thousands of other workers in the factory, so it was back to the drawing board.  

“What about a community center?” Dongmin suggested gently, “I was doing some research today while I was trying to teach Sanha some words and there’s a Center right near you guys that has free childcare for a certain income bracket. You should look into it.” Jinwoo grumbled some more but eventually said he would think about it.

The only idea that Moonbin could come up with after hours of brainstorming was marching back into his boss’ office and demanding things be changed.  Considering he was already on thin ice for his stunt during the tour, he decided it would be wise to push a meeting off until the following week. That also meant that there was no reason to meet with Jinwoo yet so Moonbin decided against taking the late bus, for now at least; he didn’t even know what he’d say to the factory worker if they did meet.  

Jinwoo spent the next week researching low income child care when he could and, after talking with Dongmin, decided to send Sanha to a community center near the younger’s apartment. That way, Dongmin could pick him up, since they closed before Jinwoo got out of work. He left the paperwork with Dongmin in the morning about a week later and headed off to work.

Throughout the next week, Moonbin was found working with the same vigor he had when he was first hired.  He would never consider himself a kiss-ass, but he needed to do everything he could to get back in his boss’ good favor.  Eventually, he requested a meeting with his boss, and was pleasantly surprised when he was granted a meeting first thing the following morning.  He spend the rest of his afternoon and evening preparing what he was going to say to the boss and hoping he wasn’t immediately fired.

The first day that Jinwoo dropped Sanha off at the community center was so hard. The boy didn’t want to go with people he didn’t know, so Jinwoo enlisted Dongmin to come down and help with the separation. Thankfully, he made it to work on time.

Moonbin hadn’t been this nervous for a day of work since the first month he had been at the company.  Taking a deep breath he finally stepped into his boss’ office. “I want to apologize for my behavior last week,” Moonbin began as he took a seat, “I didn’t mean to disrupt the workers, but some of the things I saw concerned me and I thought you should be aware of them.”  His boss sighed, “Go ahead, Moon-ssi, but I caution you to be very careful with what you say.” Moonbin nodded before continuing, “The conditions of factory are truly appalling and it’s not a safe environment for anyone. Most of the workers there are covered in bandages-”  “It cannot be proven that they received those injuries while working in our factories,” the boss interrupted. Moonbin pursed his lips, but said nothing; this was certainly going to be a long meeting.

To say that Jinwoo had a bad day would be an understatement. Not only had he dropped a crying Sanha off with a bunch of strangers, but one of his coworkers had gotten injured. As in accidentally fell in the furnace and came out with his clothes on fire injured. They had managed to put him out quickly and without too many burns to the skin under his jumpsuit, but were then all penalized for leaving their stations. Jinwoo wanted to punch something, but he resigned himself to going home with his nephew instead.

“I watched someone get injured,” Moonbin stated.  “That worker should consider himself lucky he wasn’t docked for carelessness.  I’ll discuss it further with the rest of the inspectors,” the boss asked as he took out a pen to jot down a note.  “It’s not carelessness,” Moonbin said quickly, he could feel his voice rising and he did his best to keep it even, “it’s the state of the factories.  If the factories were clean or bare minimum had well functioning machinery the workers would be much happier. Happier and fit workers will increase production, which we could always use.” “Your attention to detail is commendable, Moon-ssi, but might I remind you what department you work in.  Take care of the shipping like you were hired to do and please don’t waste my time with something like this again,” the boss said, with a tone of finality. Moonbin simply stood and bowed, curtly thanking his boss for meeting with him and left. He was frustrated to say the least.

Jinwoo nodded along as the community center employee informed him that they were concerned about Sanha's lagging development. Yes, he knew Sanha was small, yes, he knew Sanha should be starting to talk by now, yes, he knew, he knew, he knew. He knew, but what could he do about it when he could barely afford his rent and groceries at the same time?

Moonbin kicked off his shoes and threw his jacket over the back of a chair when he got home.  He made a beeline for the couch and pulled out his laptop. The hours of research on the factory turned up nothing he needed and he slammed in closed in frustration.  He had an idea, but it wasn’t quite coming together. It finally dawned on him that he had all the evidence in the world with Jinwoo. He decided he would finally take the late bus after a week of stalling and talk to the factory worker about his plan.

When Jinwoo picked up Sanha after work the next day, he avoided the community center workers. He didn't need them telling him more things he already knew. When he and Sanha climbed on the bus, he was surprised to see Moonbin there.

Moonbin sighed in relief when he watched Jinwoo climb onto the bus.  He wasn’t sure why he was nervous the factory worker wouldn’t be on today, but that might just be the nerves from his plan.  Looking up, he watched Jinwoo nervously; he wasn’t sure if the shorter man wasn’t still angry enough at him to sit somewhere else.

Jinwoo hesitantly sat next to Moonbin. He knew the executive wouldn't be on the bus if he weren't looking for Jinwoo. "Can I help you?" he asked after a moment.

“How’s your hand?” Moonbin asked quietly.  He kept his eyes locked on his shoes, too nervous to even look Jinwoo in the eyes.

"Fine," Jinwoo said shortly, "if you're here to talk about last week, you can forget it. I'm not doing or saying anything that goes against the company. I cannot afford to lose this job." He shifted Sanha on his lap, noticing that the boy was nearly asleep.

Moonbin sighed sadly, this was already going poorly and he knew without Jinwoo’s help his efforts would be futile.  “I want to create a safe work environment for all of you but I need your help. You don’t need to say anything against the company, I just have a few questions.  No one will know you are involved I promise,” Moonbin said quickly. He waited with bated breath, already anticipating Jinwoo’s refusal.

"You wanna fix shit? Start by realizing that not a single person in the upper level of the company cares about anyone in any of their factories. They will never care about us. Start there, because until a week ago, you were one of them." Jinwoo was getting more and more annoyed with this conversation. Who did Moonbin think he was?

“I had no idea it was that bad,” Moonbin admitted slowly.  He sighed sadly and lifted his eyes to look out the window, “I was afraid you wouldn’t want to help.  I’m sorry to bother you Jinwoo-ssi.”

"You don't care because you actually want to help us, because you actually care about what happens down there," Jinwoo said, keeping his voice low, "you pity us. You feel guilty. Leave me alone, _Inspector Moon_." With that, Jinwoo got up and off the bus, three stops early. He would rather walk than spend one more minute with Moonbin.

Moonbin opened his mouth and turned around only to watch Jinwoo storm off the bus.  This had gone the exact opposite of how he had hoped and he felt almost defeated. He knew he couldn’t give up, but he couldn’t shake what Jinwoo said; he wasn’t entirely wrong.

Jinwoo was still angry when he got home, but it was more of a defeated anger. As much as Moonbin may want to help, he would get them both fired before anything else. It simply wasn't worth the risk.

Moonbin had no idea what to do.  He was basically back at square one and knew none of his coworkers could help.  Despite all his best efforts, he fell back into his usual routine for the next few weeks desperately grasping at straws for what he could do.  Finally, he decided his only other option was to go back to the factory himself. He spent the weekend planning how he was going to get in and what he was going to look for and by Monday morning he was as ready as he could be.  After calling out sick, he made his way across the city to the factory.

Jinwoo was surprised and a little pissed off when he saw Moonbin following the foreman around again later that week. This guy just didn’t give up, did he? He wasn’t being particularly subtle about the fact that he was filming, with the way his cellphone was sticking up from his coat pocket conspicuously.

Moonbin kept his head turned when he walked past the furnaces, focusing instead on his phone to ensure it was filming what he wanted.  Luckily the foreman was none the wiser, and Moonbin quickly made his way home after. He copied the footage onto his laptop, but couldn’t watch more than a few seconds before closing it.   He busied himself cooking and showering while he tried to think of a way to convince his boss to meet with him again.

Jinwoo was glad that Moonbin left him alone this time. He didn’t need anyone thinking he was in cahoots with a company inspector. It wouldn’t fare well for him. Once he and Sanha were home and the baby was in bed, he tended to his burns from the day and took a look at the cut on his palm. It still hadn’t fully closed up.

Moonbin spent the rest of the week catching up on his work.  On Friday he had stayed late yet again and was about to leave when he realized he would be able to catch the seven o’clock bus.  Thankfully, his car had been running fine so he was able to drive home and avoid running into the factory worker.

Whatever Moonbin was planning, Jinwoo hoped he was left out of it. If he lost this job, he and Sanha could be out on the street in a matter of hours. The second his landlord found out, he was done for.

Monday morning, Moonbin fired off an email lying to his boss about how some delay in the shipment could cost the company dearly and he wanted to discuss the options.  Luckily his boss fell for the bait and Moonbin happily stepped into his office early that afternoon. “What is this urgent issue, Moon-ssi?” the boss asked as soon as Moonbin walked into the office.  “Press play,” Moonbin replied as he handed his phone over. The boss’ confused face quickly turned into one of anger as he threw the phone down on the table. “I have that video saved on my laptop and will happily make it public knowledge if you fire me,” Moonbin said when his boss opened his mouth, “now I have some ideas on how to fix this urgent issue.”

“Park! Foreman wants to see you.” With wide eyes and a raised eyebrow, Jinwoo soon found himself in the foreman’s office. The man started grilling him about his relation to Moonbin, to which Jinwoo snorted. “He held my kid on the bus for fifteen minutes, so I bought him a coffee and told him to leave me alone,” he said derisively.

Moonbin was pleasantly surprised that he wasn’t immediately penalized for his actions.  The CEO did not realize the conditions of his factories were as bad as they were; however, he refused to give Moonbin any power over fixing them claiming he was “too good in his position to afford to be moved.”   His boss promised Moonbin that he would look into it further and turn it over to the inspectors to take care of. Moonbin had no faith in the men his boss claimed to trust, but nevertheless he went back to his desk and did what he was hired to do: manage the shipments.

When the foreman was satisfied that Jinwoo was telling the truth, he let him go back to his station, where there was already a pile of scrap built up and ready to be melted down.

Moonbin hadn’t heard anything from his boss in the new few weeks and knew the inspectors wouldn’t tell him anything so he had one last hope to see if anything had changed: Jinwoo.  He knew the factory worker would be less excited to see him than last time, and he truly didn’t mean to bother him, but Moonbin was growing more and more antsy the longer he was kept in the dark.  He boarded the seven o’clock bus one evening and took to staring out the window, hoping and praying that Jinwoo would be willing to talk to him.

Jinwoo felt his blood pressure shoot up when he saw Moonbin on the bus. "Haven't you figured out by now that I don't want to associate with you?" he asked gruffly when he sat down, doing his best to not jostle Sanha.

“I know,” Moonbin said sadly, “and I would much prefer to leave you alone, but you’re the only way I can know what’s going on at the factory from now on.”  Moonbin briefly explained his meeting a few weeks ago with his boss, what changes had been promised, and who was supposed to be seeing them out. “I just need to know if anything’s been done yet,” Moonbin finished.

"Literally nothing," Jinwoo said dismissively, "a stupid video isn't gonna get anything done, especially when the people put in charge of fixing things are the very people that lied in the first place. If you want that stupid CEO to actually realize what's going on, you need to drag him down there yourself."

Moonbin sat back, but kept his mouth shut.  He couldn’t understand why Jinwoo was still so angry.  He was doing his best to fix this problem and he thought Jinwoo would at least be some semblance of grateful but apparently not.   The only thing Moonbin could do was sigh and send an email to his boss. Pulling out his phone, he immediately drafted an email and scheduled it to be sent first thing in the morning.

"Look," Jinwoo said after a minute, turning toward Moonbin slightly, "I know what you're trying to do, and I get it. But the reason no one at the factory has reported the factory is because none of us can afford to lose our jobs. If you're going to try and fix what's happening down there, you need to be absolutely certain that it's gonna work before you actually do it."

“No one is going to lose their jobs,” Moonbin said certainly, that was the only condition his boss had fully agreed on when they met.  “As of right now the CEO is on my side and sure I’m just one person, but it’s better than him being against me. I can’t say for sure if things are going to get fixed, but if my boss gets down there and sees everything for himself I’m sure that will turn everything around.”  Moonbin kept his eyes down and winced internally when he saw Jinwoo’s hand, still wrapped in a dirty bandage.

“That’s just words,” Jinwoo said with a sigh, “you need to go to him with an actual plan. Give us benefits, pay us better, let us unionize. Every single person in that building has a week every month where they have to choose between food and rent.”

“I _did_ bring a plan,” Moonbin said shortly.  He sighed, it wasn’t Jinwoo he was angry at, but he couldn’t help how frustrated he felt.  “I brought him several plans to increase the quality of the machines, to reduce injuries, better hours, higher pay, you name the condition I have a way to fix it.  Unfortunately for the both of us, I have no more say at this point. I can only work from afar so I’m hoping he’s willing to go down to the factories himself and see that nothing has changed,” he added quietly.

“Have you tried bringing a union rep?” Jinwoo asked after thinking for a moment, “there’s a factory workers union near that coffee shop we went to. They might be able to do more than you can alone.”

“No I haven’t.  I’ll go talk to them today. That’s actually incredibly helpful.  Thank you,” Moonbin finally raised his eyes and smiled softly at Jinwoo.  

“It takes a lot more than one person to change stuff like this,” Jinwoo said with a small smile. He stood when the bus reached his stop and disembarked, heading up the hill.

Moonbin made his way to the factory workers’ union and was more successful in his hour long meeting than he had been in the last few weeks with his boss.  He was feeling pretty optimistic for the first time since his first visit to the factory all those months ago. That day he decided to take the bus to tell Jinwoo about his success.

After work the next day, Jinwoo took Sanha over to Dongmin’s to celebrate a success: the boy had said his first real word while at the community center. Jinwoo was a little upset that he had missed it, but he was glad that Sanha was finally catching up.

Moonbin was confused when Jinwoo wasn’t on the bus.  He felt...worried. With a sigh he sat back, hoping that everything was okay with the factory worker.

Sanha obviously didn’t understand why they were celebrating, but he was certainly excited for the little cake Dongmin had bought. They didn’t have much to celebrate, after all, so a little cake on a Friday night was always a treat.

Moonbin continued his work with the union representative and even convinced the CEO to take a tour of the factory on his own.  Needless to say that kicked things into gear and the other inspectors were fired and replaced. A union was well on its way to being formed, but Moonbin was still not able to go anywhere else near the project.  He forgoed taking the bus for a few days, but eventually caved and decided to try one more time to talk to Jinwoo.

Once Sanha started talking, it seemed like he wasn’t going to stop. Apparently, he’d known the words the entire time; he just needed a trigger for them all spill out. That trigger seemed to be time around other talkative toddlers. Which, of course, made Jinwoo feel horrible. A few days after their little party, he held Sanha on his lap on the bus. The boy was absolutely wiped out.

“Hi, Jinwoo-ssi,” Moonbin greeted chipperly when he saw the factory worker get on the bus.  “Have you had a chance to meet with Myungjun yet? He’s the union representative who is going to be working with all of you to get the factory unionized.”  He talked fast, but he couldn’t hold in his excitement. This was the first real piece of progress they had made, and while there was still a lot more to do, Moonbin was thrilled to say the least.   On top of his excitement, he was very grateful Jinwoo had suggested the union office; Moonbin didn’t know what else he would have done.

Jinwoo jumped when Moonbin started talking; he hadn’t even noticed the executive on the bus. The movement jostled Sanha awake and into tired tears. Jinwoo laid the boy over his shoulder and rubbed his back until he quieted down again. “I have not; he hasn’t been to the furnace workers yet,” he finally replied once Sanha was asleep again.

Moonbin bit his lip, he hadn’t meant to wake Sanha up, but he was grateful the toddler went back to sleep quickly.  “Ah I see. Well he should get to you soon,” Moonbin said, lowering his voice, “thank you for telling me about their office.  I really don’t know what else I could have done without them.”

“The rumor mill says there’s going to be a week of mandatory PTO soon,” Jinwoo said, “something about training for foremen and inspectors. Is that true?”

“I sure hope so,” Moonbin replied, “Unfortunately, my boss hasn’t been updating me on anything because I’m in a different department.  I also haven’t had a chance to meet with Myungjun since we began setting this whole thing up, but I can talk to him tomorrow and find out.”  If there was one thing Moonbin hated, it was being left in the dark, especially with this, but he had ways of getting the information he needed.

 Jinwoo hummed. He certainly hoped it was true. He would love to just spend time with Sanha and Dongmin without worrying. He also hoped he’d be able to meet this Myungjun person soon and thank him.

“I guess it’s I who owes you now,” Moonbin said, “without your suggestion nothing would have gotten done and I might not have even still had my job.”

“That coffee never showed up on my billing,” Jinwoo accused, “I think I would call us even now.” Moonbin had no idea how much better things had gotten even in just a few days.

Moonbin couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped his lips.  “I’m sorry for lying, but I couldn’t let you pay for that. Plus, this is worth so much more than one coffee,” he said.  

“No offense, but your job is not worth nearly as much as the health and well-being of those hundreds of workers,” Jinwoo said seriously, “if you have the chance, you should really get down there and talk to them.”

“I would love to,” Moonbin said with a nod, “I’ll have to talk to Myungjun about showing me around once he’s met with everyone.  I won’t be able to get down to the factory again unless he grants me permission. My boss has been restricting me from going down again.”  He snuck a glance at the sleeping toddler in Jinwoo’s arms and couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his lips.

“Everyone down there would be glad to have you, and any other upper office person who wants to fix this shit,” Jinwoo said. He was still absently rubbing Sanha’s back, keeping the boy asleep.

“I haven’t really talked with anyone else in my department about this to be honest.  People usually mind their business and go with the flow until things affect them personally so I doubt any of them even know what’s going on,” Moonbin said almost sadly.  “Maybe once the new foremen and inspectors are hired I’ll ask Myungjun to let me sneak in on a tour and come talk to some of the workers.” The more Moonbin thought about it the more he wanted to go back down to the factory.  Sure he knew a little bit about Jinwoo, but there were hundreds of other workers who had stories to tell and families to provide for that Moonbin knew nothing about. He also knew he wouldn’t be satisfied that things were getting better until he saw the improvements for himself.

Jinwoo stood up as he saw his stop approaching. He paused before getting off the bus. “Thanks, Moonbin,” he said, “really.”

Moonbin nodded and smiled widely as he watched Jinwoo make his way off the bus.  He pulled out his phone and sent a quick email to Myungjun asking if they could meet for coffee sometime during the week so he could be updated on everything going on.  With a large smile adorning his face, he happily made his way home for the evening.

Jinwoo managed to get Sanha in bed fairly easily and took advantage of the quiet time to balance his finances. He was finally recovering from that week of docked pay and was glad to see that both rent and dinner were viable options this time around. It took a weight off knowing that things were in a better place now.

Moonbin met Myungjun at the same coffee shop he brought Jinwoo too.  After they had ordered and sat down, Moonbin listened to all of the updates and plans, from gradually replacing the machinery to giving the workers less hours, but maintaining an increased pay.  Moonbin was ecstatic to hear the week of PTO was true and that interviews were being conducted to fill the missing positions. “You know, if you just so happened to interview for that foreman position I would happily give it to you,” Myungjun said.  “As much as I would love the position, I don’t think I’m cut out for it,” Moonbin said, “I don’t know nearly enough about the factories, but I do have a recommendation for you.” “Oh? Do tell,” Myungjun said excitedly as he pulled out his phone to make a note.  “His name is Park Jinwoo and he currently works on the furnaces. He’s a great guy and an incredibly hard worker, with a little bit of training I think he’d be perfect for the job.” “Thank you, Moonbin-ssi. I’ll look into it,” Myungjun said as he stood up to make his way out of the coffee shop.  Moonbin thanked Myungjun again and made his own way home, satisfied with what he had done.

Jinwoo was surprised when, during his next shift, he was pulled aside into the foreman’s office. “You’re not in trouble,” the man in front of him assured him, “we’re interviewing for a new foreman for the furnace sector and you were recommended to us by someone in upper management. I’m Kim Myungjun, the union representative.” Ah. This must be Moonbin’s doing.

Moonbin was thoroughly distracted throughout the next week.  The system they used to track shipments had gone down and there was no way to regulate what was going out and coming in.  Unfortunately, that meant going in early as in six am early and staying late, as in eight or nine pm late every day. By the end of the week, the issue had mostly been resolved and Moonbin was able to get out a little bit earlier.  He was relieved when he finally crawled into bed that evening. He was mentally exhausted and grateful for the relief the cool material of his pillow provided for his tension headache.

When Myungjun laid out the responsibilities and benefits of being promoted to foreman, Jinwoo was more than happy to interview for the position - after he made sure that the majority of the benefits were extended to the regular workers as well, the things like healthcare and PTO. By the end of the day, he went home feeling confident, and with a week of time off to look forward to. Mandatory PTO had started the moment the ending bell rang.

Moonbin was grateful that the system was back up and running by the time Monday had  rolled around, but that meant more late nights of catching up from the missed logs of last week.  He hadn’t heard any further updates and decided to hold off emailing Myungjun, he was sure the representative would contact him with how the interviews went.  What Moonbin really wished was he had was a way to contact Jinwoo, he wanted to know how everything was going, and it was hard to know if the worker was going to miss his bus for some reason or another.

The first morning that Jinwoo got to just lay in bed with Sanha and fall back asleep was absolutely incredible. Myungjun had told him that the company would be switching to a five day, forty hour workweek, instead of the illegal seven day, eighty four hour schedule they had been running. Soon, he would get to do this all the time.

Moonbin was relieved when everything was finally back in order and had gone back to business as usual.  Every once in awhile a few of the guys in his department would grab dinner together as a self given reward for their hard work and the past week definitely warranted one.  “I hear there’s a ton of changes being made at the factories,” one of the men said as the group looked over their menus. Moonbin looked up quickly, he hadn’t realized word about the factories was common knowledge within the company.  “I actually know quite a bit about that,” Moonbin began. He eagerly launched into a retelling of the months worth of work that had gone into improving the factory conditions for the workers.

Jinwoo actually had no idea what to do with his day off. He couldn’t really afford to take Sanha out to somewhere like the zoo, but he could take the boy to the park, so that was what he did. After that, they stopped over to Dongmin’s for dinner, a very happy affair.

Moonbin was pleasantly surprised by how outraged his coworkers were at the conditions of the factories, but not surprised they didn’t know anything.  Hell he didn’t know anything until he went on that tour. After bidding goodnight to his friends, Moonbin went home. All he could do at this point was wait for Myungjun to email him with who the new hires were and try to catch Jinwoo on the bus when he was back to work.

Jinwoo was surprised to return home and find Myungjun in the hallway of his apartment building, holding a young boy by the hand. “Jinwoo! I’m glad I could catch you,” he said when the younger finally made it to him, “I needed to find you but you don’t have any contact information on file. We’re going to need you to come in for a few hours of training on Thursday. You got the job!” The grin on Jinwoo’s face upon hearing the news practically tore his cheeks apart and he quickly ushered Myungjun and his son - he assumed the boy belonged to the rep - inside the apartment.

Moonbin was ecstatic when he got the email from Myungjun telling him that Jinwoo got the foreman position.  He wished he could congratulate Jinwoo in person, but that would have to wait until he was able to get down to the factory.

Jinwoo was surprised by how easily he and Myungjun got along. Once Sanha and Minhyuk, Myungjun’s son, had passed out on the couch, the two of them stayed talking for hours.

The first thing Moonbin did when he got home was take out his laptop.  He had already moved the video to a flash drive that he had given to Myungjun and now that everything had gotten better, he no longer wanted the file on his computer.  After wiping it from the hard drive, he deleted it from his phone as well. Satisfied that things would never be that bad again, Moonbin made his way to the bathroom to take a shower.   

Once Myungjun and Minhyuk had finally gone home, Jinwoo moved himself and Sanha into bed. The boy woke up briefly before settling down again. This was one of the first days Jinwoo had really spent with his nephew since Sanha had come to live with him and he didn’t think he had ever been happier.

Moonbin fell back into his usually routine easily.  With Myungjun giving him updates every so often, he didn’t feel the need to be directly involved with the factory.  He had debated asking Myungjun to have Jinwoo contact him so he could see how the foreman, Moonbin liked that title much better for him, was doing personally, but he decided against it.  

Jinwoo had only been back at work for a few weeks when he was finally able to afford his first major purchase for himself in years: a cell phone. Of course, he only had two numbers to put in it, but it was the thought that counted.

Moonbin finally had the opportunity to tour the factory again.  Myungjun led him around, talking animatedly about everything that had been improved.  Moonbin was incredibly happy with all of the progress that had been made, even though there was still so much to do.  At the end of the day, Moonbin thanked Myungjun and made his way to the furnace sector. Knocking on the foreman’s office door, he took a deep breath before stepping in.

“Come in,” Jinwoo called when he heard a knock on his office. He dropped his new phone on the desk, frustrated, and looked up at his visitor. To his surprise, it was Moonbin.

“Hello, Mr. Foreman,” Moonbin greeted chipperly.  “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get down here, but I wanted to congratulate you on your new position in person and see how everything is going,” he said as he took a few steps into the room.

“It’s going great,” Jinwoo said with a smile. He was really happy with his new position, as was Sanha. “My only complaint is this godforsaken phone.”

“That’s good to hear!” Moonbin exclaimed.  “What’s going on with your phone?” he asked as he approached the desk and stared at the piece of technology sitting on it.  He didn’t realize Jinwoo had a phone so it must be new.

“I can’t figure out how to get it set up,” Jinwoo admitted, pushing the phone toward the executive. He’d never owned a cell phone, or any electronic devices for that matter.

“Let’s see what we can do,” Moonbin said with a small smile as he picked the phone up off the desk.  He slowly showed Jinwoo how to set the phone up, how to navigate the device, and how all the pre-downloaded apps that he might need work.  “It should be all set to make and receive calls and texts now,” Moonbin said when he was done with his explanation, “Do you want to try it out to make sure?”

“Thanks,” Jinwoo said when Moonbin was done. He felt kind of stupid, but he really had no idea what he was doing. “I’ll try it out with Dongmin tonight.”

“Alright,” Moonbin said, “Good luck with everything and I’ll make sure to stop in next time I come down.”  

"Thank you," Jinwoo said genuinely, just as the phone on his desk rang. He answered it and the blood drained from his face just moments later. "Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can," he said tersely before hanging up and grabbing his coat. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

“Is everything okay?” Moonbin asked concernedly as he followed Jinwoo from the office.  He wasn’t exactly sure what the phone call was about, but he had an idea.

"Not really, no," Jinwoo said as he beckoned Moonbin out the door so he could lock his office, "Sanha's really sick; I need to go pick him up."

“Oh no,” Moonbin whispered as he stepped to the side.  “Do you need a ride down there?” he asked as he fiddled with his keys in his pocket, “I have my car and the buses aren’t very efficient for quick travel.”

If it were any other day, Jinwoo would decline, but he had to get to Sanha as quickly as he could. "That would be fucking wonderful, thank you."

Moonbin nodded wordlessly and strode out of the factory.  “Do you know how to get to where Sanha is from here?” he asked as he led Jinwoo to his car.

Jinwoo followed Moonbin out to his car, practically running to keep up. "Yeah, it's right near subway stop 6."

“Oh, I know where that is,” Moonbin said as he climbed into the car.   He drove across the city as fast as he could legally get away with and soon enough they were outside of the daycare center.

The second the car stopped outside the community center, Jinwoo was rushing inside. He took his nephew from the frantic worker, frowning as Sanha whimpered pitifully. The woman explained that he'd thrown up a little bit more, but had otherwise just been upset. Jinwoo thanked them and rushed back out to the car. "Can you get me to a hospital?" he asked Moonbin.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Moonbin replied as he drove off again.  He was careful to not jostle Sanha around too much as he took a few quick turns.  He kept sneaking looks at the sick toddler as he raced across the city. Soon they had reached the hospital and Moonbin drove right up to the doors.   “I’m going to park and then I’ll be up,” he said.

Jinwoo didn't even hear Moonbin as he practically jumped out of the car and sprinted into the emergency room. The daycare workers had said that his fever was really high, so he relayed the information and got Sanha into a bed as quickly as he could. The boy started sobbing when he was separated from Jinwoo, but the elder stayed next to his bed the entire time.

Moonbin found a parking space, on the top floor of the parking garage no less, and made his way into the emergency room.  After giving the front desk Sanha’s name he was given a room number, but because he wasn’t family all he could do was wait outside.

Jinwoo sat with Sanha as the nurses pricked him with needles and injected him with medications. The poor boy was in so much pain, but didn't even have the energy to cry. Jinwoo felt so bad for not even noticing that he was getting sick.

After about an hour or so Moonbin stopped pacing up and down the hallway.  He wasn’t sure if Jinwoo needed anything else so he didn’t want to leave. Resigned to waiting for who knows how much longer, Moonbin headed back out to the waiting room and shed his jacket before slipping into a seat.

When Sanha finally fell asleep, Jinwoo slipped out of the room to grab himself a coffee from the cafeteria. On the way down, he was surprised to see Moonbin still in the waiting room. "I thought you would've left," he said, doing a double take.

“I wanted to see if you needed anything else before I left,” Moonbin said, sitting up when Jinwoo entered the waiting room.  “How is Sanha?” he asked quietly.

“Oh my god, Moonbin, it’s been hours,” Jinwoo said, sitting down, “he’s so sick, the poor thing. Threw up again, still has a high fever. He’ll be here for a couple days at least.”

Moonbin sighed quietly, “I’m sorry, Jinwoo.  I hope everything will be okay soon.” He paused for a moment before reaching out to gently rub Jinwoo’s shoulders.  The shorter man looked exhausted, in a much different way from how he looked that first day on the bus.

Jinwoo tried not to let on just how scared he was. Sanha wasn’t particularly prone to sickness, so for him to get so ill twice in just a few months was worrisome. Jinwoo just hoped it was curable, whatever it was.

“He’ll be okay,” Moonbin said confidently.  Frankly, he had no idea how long it would take for Sanha to get better, but he wanted to try and be as positive as possible for Jinwoo.  “Can I do anything for you?” he asked slowly.

“Vouch for me,” Jinwoo said immediately, “I’m gonna have to go to my superior to use PTO for this and since I’m so new to the job, he’s likely to not approve it unless someone can back me up.” His mind was already racing with the things he needed to do - like calling Dongmin.

“Absolutely,” Moonbin said easily, “ Don’t worry about that; I’ll take care of it.  I’ll send an email first thing in the morning.” He continued rubbing Jinwoo’s shoulders for a few more moments before he let his hand slide back into his lap.

“Mr. Park?” Jinwoo looked up to see the doctor waiting for him. With a sigh, he stood up and handed his phone to Moonbin. “Can you do me a favor and call Dongmin? He’s one of the only numbers saved in there,” he asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Moonbin said as he took the phone.  He was grateful he helped Jinwoo set up the phone so he knew the passcode.  Easily finding Dongmin’s number, he dialed it and explained who he was and the situation with Sanha.

Jinwoo thanked Moonbin then followed the doctor back to Sanha’s room. “You said he was sick just a few weeks ago?” Jinwoo nodded to confirm, “and he didn’t see a doctor? How did you treat him?” “Ibuprofen and cough medicine for the most part,” Jinwoo said, “half adult tabs because the kids ones are too expensive.” The doctor hummed before breaking the news.

Dongmin had insisted on coming to the hospital so Moonbin told him where he was waiting before hanging up.  Once he had hung up he went back to Jinwoo’s contact and added his number. Moonbin doubted Jinwoo would use it, but he felt better knowing he’d have it if necessary.  He slipped Jinwoo’s phone into his pocket and sat back in the chair, once again waiting for Jinwoo to come back out.

Once the doctor had explained to him what was wrong with Sanha and how to treat it once the boy was released from the hospital, Jinwoo wandered back down to the waiting room. He wasn’t really hungry anymore and he figured that was where Dongmin would show up.

“Dongmin should be here soon,” Moonbin said as he handed Jinwoo’s phone back to him.  “Do they know what’s wrong?” he asked quickly. He didn’t want to pry, but he couldn’t help feeling worried for the toddler.

“Gastric ulcers,” Jinwoo said, a little hollowly, as he pocketed his phone, “small ones, but he’s so young, and so little...” The worst part of the entire thing was that it was all Jinwoo’s fault.

“Oh no, poor baby,” Moonbin whispered, “At least they know what’s wrong so they can treat him quickly.  He’ll be back to normal in no time.”

“Yeah, he’ll be okay,” Jinwoo said with a sigh, “I just feel so bad.” He looked up when he heard his name and saw a frantic looking Dongmin rush into the room and over to him. He quickly stood up and hugged his best friend tightly.

Moonbin stood up as well when another man entered the room.  He easily picked him out as Dongmin and took a few steps away from the pair, unsure of whether he should leave or not yet.

Dongmin talked quickly, bombarding Jinwoo with questions before he noticed the man awkwardly standing next to him. “You must be...Moonbin, was it?” he said, sticking his hand out, “I’m Lee Dongmin.”

“Yes, I am,” Moonbin answered as he extended his own hand to shake Dongmin’s, “It’s nice to meet you although I wish the circumstances were a bit different.”

“Sanha’s the third room down on the left,” Jinwoo said, “I’ve already authorized you as a visitor. C’mon, Moonbin, I’ll walk you to your car.” It was starting to get late and he didn’t need to hold the executive any longer than he already had.

Moonbin wanted to insist that Jinwoo stay with Sanha, but a little fresh air couldn’t hurt the foreman.  He bid farewell to Dongmin and began making his way towards the parking garage.

“Thank you for driving me, seriously,” Jinwoo said once they were outside, “I’ll pay you back for the gas next time you come down to the factory.”

“Of course,” Moonbin said, “please don’t worry about that, worry about taking care of Sanha.  I’ll take care of your superior as well, so he shouldn’t give you a hard time about this.”

“Hopefully he’ll get better quickly,” Jinwoo said, biting his lip. He was also going to have to talk to his landlord about getting their apartment checked for mold, but that was a different fight. For now, he needed to worry about his baby.

“Between you, Dongmin, and the hospital staff, he’s in really good hands.  He’ll be okay soon,” Moonbin said. He wished he could do more, but all he could offer some positivity that would hopefully make Jinwoo feel better.  “Is there anything else I can do before I go?” he asked as they reached his car.

“Just get home safely,” Jinwoo requested. He would feel even more horrendous if something happened to Moonbin after all this.

“I will,” Moonbin promised, smiling softly, “Goodnight, Jinwoo.  I’ll take a ride down tomorrow after work to check in and see if you need anything.”

Jinwoo thanked Moonbin again before returning to the hospital building. He checked his phone, seeing a text from Dongmin telling him that Sanha had been moved to the pediatrics unit and giving him the new room number. With a small, tired sigh, he made his way upstairs.

Moonbin made his way through the now empty streets to get back to his apartment.  He didn’t realize how tired he was until he walked in the door. Eating and showering in record time, Moonbin finally laid down and he couldn’t help but worry about Sanha and Jinwoo as he fell asleep.

Once Sanha was set for the night, Jinwoo slid into the bed and held the boy on his lap. He was barely awake, but just coherent enough to want his uncle close. Jinwoo sighed. How could he do this to his poor boy?

The first thing Moonbin did when he woke up was send an email to Jinwoo’s superior and Myungjun explaining the situation.  After hitting send, he dragged himself to the office and busied himself with his own work.

The doctors wanted Sanha to stay in the hospital until the ulcers started to visibly heal, which meant that Jinwoo had a lot of time on his hands. Leaving the boy in Dongmin’s care, he went to talk to the landlord.

Eventually the day came to an end, but not without an impromptu meeting to discuss an upcoming schedule for mandatory training.  Moonbin didn’t get out of the office until over an hour past when his shift ended. He made his way down to his car and resigned himself to driving in heavy traffic to get down to the hospital.

Jinwoo’s discussion with his landlord turned into a full-on argument, but he left with his tenancy intact and a promise that the man would get his apartment fully cleaned. For the meantime, he would stay with Dongmin. The younger lived closer to the hospital anyway.

After forty-five minutes, Moonbin finally made it to the hospital and once again parked in the garage.  Once he made it to the front desk he got Sanha’s new room number, and made his way to the pediatrics ward.

Sanha was miserable. He was obviously in a lot of pain and there was really nothing Jinwoo could do to help, except hold the boy while he cried. The boy was hurt and scared and Jinwoo was just trying to do his best, but he was really so close to breaking down himself

Moonbin slipped into the room quietly.  He sighed sadly when he saw Sanha sobbing into Jinwoo’s shoulder.  “Hey there,” he whispered as he approached the pair.

Jinwoo looked up when the door opened, surprised to see Moonbin instead of Dongmin. “Hey,” he said quietly, lifting Sanha up a bit to readjust him.

“Any updates?” Moonbin asked as he made his way across the room.  He sat down gently on the edge of the bed, keeping a nervous eye on Sanha and Jinwoo.  Both of them looked exhausted and he couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable the toddler must be.

“They’re gonna keep him a few more days, just to make sure the medications are working,” Jinwoo said. He rubbed Sanha’s back as he spoke, trying to get the boy to fall asleep. If nothing else, he was supposed to keep Sanha happy, and he obviously wasn’t being very successful. His sister would’ve had his head.

Moonbin nodded, glad that everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.  “I talked with Myungjun and your superior so you should be all set with them,” he said, “do you need anything else?”

“Honestly? I need like a gallon of coffee,” Jinwoo said, completely serious. He didn’t want to risk falling asleep in case Sanha needed something.

“I’ll be right back,” Moonbin said with a small smile.  He stood up from the bed and made his way to the cafeteria.  After getting a black coffee for Jinwoo and a regular for himself, he made his way back up to Sanha’s room.  “Here you go,” Moonbin said when he stepped back into the room. He took a sip of his own coffee before placing them on the small table and taking a seat again.

Jinwoo took the coffee gratefully, taking a long sip before setting it to the side. “Thank you,” he said. He owed Moonbin a lot when this whole ordeal was over.

Moonbin simply nodded, eyes flicking back and forth between Sanha and Jinwoo.  “Dongmin seems like a great guy,” he commented.

“He is,” Jinwoo said with a nod, “he’s done so much for me and Sanha ever since Sanha came to live with me.” Dongmin was his best friend, his brother practically, and he owed him everything.

“It’s nice to have someone so supportive,” Moonbin said quietly.  He didn’t know Dongmin at all, but he was grateful that Jinwoo had him nonetheless.  Moonbin thought back to his own friends and while he was close with several of his coworkers, it was nowhere near the same.

“It is,” Jinwoo said with a small smile. Dongmin was his lifeline, and Myungjun was quickly becoming a great friend as well. It was good for Sanha to have someone his own age around.

Moonbin hummed in agreement as he reached for his coffee.  He took a small sip and sat back slightly.

“So how have things been at work for you since this entire overhaul?” Jinwoo asked. He realized that Moonbin had done a lot for him, but he barely knew anything about the executive.

“Busy,” Moonbin replied, “our systems went down and that took about a week to get back up and running and another week to catch up.  The biggest change has been rescheduling departures because of the new hours, but that’s almost done. Management has really only had to make minor changes, but you can imagine how long it takes people to get anything done.”   He was lucky his coworkers were as hardworking as he was or their department would still be drowning in the work from the week they lost.

Jinwoo nodded. He didn’t understand what exactly Moonbin did, but he knew it was important to keeping the company running. If only he’d gone to college, maybe he’d have a cushy office job like the younger, but it simply hadn’t been an option for him.

It quickly dawned on Moonbin that he hadn’t previously mentioned what department he worked in.  “I’m sorry that must have sounded like nonsense. I work in the shipping department so we’re responsible for ensuring materials get delivered and products get shipped on a specific schedule,” he said quickly.

Jinwoo nodded again, this time to show that he understood. “So you’re actually kind of my boss now then,” he said, thinking about it, “sort of.” Part of his job involved making sure all the lines were on schedule so that product got shipped out on time.

“I guess you could look at it that way,” Moonbin said slowly, “but it’s more like coworking.”  He didn’t really like the idea of considering himself to be Jinwoo’s boss. “I’m not technically supposed to have as much direct contact with the factories as I have been,” he admitted, “that’s reserved for the next position up from me.”

Jinwoo made a face. He knew the head of the shipping department and they didn’t get along. He would much rather work with Moonbin. The head treated him like he was still a bottom of the barrel worker and it was so frustrating.

Moonbin couldn’t help but chuckle at Jinwoo’s face at the mention of his own boss.  He had lost count years ago of the number of times his coworkers had rolled their eyes or made similar faces when their boss came through with something else that wasn’t even a problem for them to fix.  “I don’t particularly like him either; to be honest my whole department isn’t really a fan of him,” he said.

“That’s because he’s an awful person,” Jinwoo said bluntly, “he has no respect for anyone that he sees as lesser than him.” It was seriously a problem that should be addressed, but Moonbin had caused enough ruckus.

Moonbin nodded sadly; he had heard quite a few stories from the workers when he finally got a chance to talk to them at the factories.  “Unfortunately because of his seniority, he’s practically untouchable, especially by anyone else in the department. It’s a shame, but I’m hoping he’ll retire within the next few years,” he said.

“Let’s hope so,” Jinwoo said. He would probably still be working there in a few years. There were only so many jobs you could get without any sort of degree or certification. It would only really become a problem once he needed to send Sanha to school.

“I wouldn’t mind his position to be honest,” Moonbin said quietly.  It would certainly give him a lot more say within the department and the company as a whole.  He had a lot of changes he would like to make, but weren’t feasible in his current position, especially considering what he just did with the factories.

Jinwoo paused in his rubbing of Sanha’s back, noticing that the boy was finally asleep. He was grateful. Sanha needed his rest if he was ever going to get better.

“Do you want a break?” Moonbin asked slowly, “I can keep an eye on Sanha if you want to take a short walk or get some sleep yourself.”  He doubted Jinwoo would want to leave Sanha’s side, especially now but he wanted to offer anyway.

“No, I’m okay,” Jinwoo said as he switched Sanha to the other shoulder and leaned the top of the bed back a little. “I bet you’ve had a long day though,” he said apologetically, “you really can head home.”

“It doesn’t compare,” Moonbin said with a shake of his head, “let me at least get you a fresh coffee.”  He stood up and discarded the empty cups and made his was downstairs to get a new coffee for Jinwoo.

Jinwoo closed his eyes once Moonbin left the room, taking the opportunity to rest just until the younger got back. However, against his own intentions, he ended up falling asleep.

Moonbin wasn’t surprised that Jinwoo was asleep when he got back.  He was actually relieved, the foreman could certainly use the rest.  Placing the coffee on the table, Moonbin went to the nurses station to get a piece of paper and a pen so he could write a note.

Jinwoo stayed asleep, his hand on Sanha’s back and his head turned to the side. He stayed asleep until the boy woke up wailing, as the medications had started wearing off. Disoriented, he rubbed Sanha’s back as gently as he could and pressed the call button.

Moonbin left the note, explaining that he had left and apologized for the coffee going cold before Jinwoo could get to it.  He also said he would be back the following evening. Satisfied, he made his way home and got ready to do everything all over again the following day.

Jinwoo reluctantly handed Sanha over to a nurse and that was when he noticed that Moonbin was gone. He must’ve been asleep for a while. Once the nurses were done, he took his nephew back and managed to quiet him down.

Moonbin felt guilty for leaving, but it was getting late and his boss was making him come in early the following morning.  He hoped the note would be sufficient enough, but he only worried about that until he finally climbed into bed and fell asleep.

Once Sanha was back asleep, Jinwoo picked up his phone and scrolled through until he found Dongmin’s contact. He clicked on it and typed out a message saying that Sanha would be released the next morning and asking if they could stay for a few days while the apartment was cleaned. [Message sent to: 문빈].

Moonbin was surprised to wake up to a text from an unknown number, but quickly realized it was Jinwoo.  He saved his number and then proceeded to read the message. He had to admit he was confused Jinwoo would ask to stay with him, but he was more than happy to have Sanha and him stay for a few days.  After typing out a reply that said he was happy Sanha was being released, staying wasn’t a problem, and asking what time he needed to be picked up, Moonbin pressed send and finished getting ready so he could get to work.

Jinwoo’s eyes widened when he received a response. “Sorry, I meant to send that to Dongmin,” he typed back quickly, feeling mortified.

Moonbin checked his messages as he walked into the office.  It made sense that Jinwoo mean to send that message to Dongmin, considering they were much closer.  He quickly typed back: “It’s not a problem. Let me know if you need anything.” After pressing send, he slipped his phone into his desk for the day and got to work.  

Jinwoo copied and sent his original message to Dongmin, sent another apology to Moonbin, and set his phone down. Sanha was starting to fuss, which meant Jinwoo probably needed to change his diaper and do the other fatherly duties he was responsible for.

For some reason or another, Moonbin’s boss was being more insufferable than usual.  He had Moonbin single handedly covering the day’s work of one of the guys who was on vacation for the week, rather than distributing it across the office.  This meant Moonbin was stuck in the office much later than he was supposed to get out. It was long dark when he was finally able to get out and he dragged himself to his car.  

It was thankfully Sanha’s last night in the hospital and Jinwoo was spending it packing. The nurses had given him some supplies to use for Sanha, including baby-safe medication, and he was leaving with much more than he had brought.

The only good thing about leaving the office later than he was supposed to was avoiding rush hour traffic.  Moonbin quickly made his way home, grateful that he had leftovers in the fridge. He was disappointed but not surprised to find an email from his boss demanding he be in early again the following morning.  Sighing sadly, he immediately climbed into bed, not having any time to worry about how Sanha was doing.

Once Sanha’s things were all packed up, Jinwoo had nothing to do. He debated texting Dongmin, but he knew the younger had to be up early for work. He could text Myungjun, but the same held true for his older friend. With a sigh, he resigned himself to one of the games on his phone.

Moonbin once again dragged himself from bed much earlier than usual.  Getting up this early didn’t typically bother him once in a while, but he knew by the end of the week he’d be exhausted.  He checked his messages, not particularly expecting anything from Jinwoo, but he wanted to check nonetheless. Sighing sadly, he made his way to work for another long day of double his usual work.

Jinwoo finally, finally, took Sanha from the hospital. They rode the bus to Dongmin’s apartment and let themselves in with Jinwoo’s spare key. Sanha was still sick and in pain, but he was visibly happy to be out of the hospital.

Moonbin debated texting Jinwoo during his lunch break and pulled his phone out of his desk.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw his boss rounding the corner and quickly threw his phone back into the drawer before slamming it closed.  He could always text him tomorrow and see how Sanha was doing once they got settled into Dongmin’s.

Jinwoo settled onto the couch with Sanha cuddled in his lap. Using Dongmin’s Netflix account - he didn’t have cable - he turned on a Disney movie to keep the boy occupied.

Moonbin legitimately enjoyed his job, what he did not enjoy however, was for the third day in a row, his boss demanding he show up early.  Considering his stunt with advocating for the changes to be made to the factories, he couldn’t afford to argue. Once again leaving well after dark, Moonbin quickly went home and made a mental note to text Jinwoo first thing in the morning when he woke up.

Jinwoo and Sanha had both fallen asleep on the couch and were woken up by Dongmin arriving home. At least, Jinwoo was. Sanha continued to sleep like a rock.

Moonbin forced his eyes open when his alarm began blaring.  He rolled over and sleepily typed a message to Jinwoo, asking how Sanha was doing and apologizing for texting so early.  Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he made sure there were no typos before pressing send and dragging himself out of bed.

Jinwoo was surprised to wake up to an early text from Moonbin. “Sorry for the late response,” he texted back, “Sanha’s much better, but I’m taking the next few days off just in case. Thanks so much for all your help!”

Moonbin had to wait until lunch to respond to Jinwoo.  “That’s great to hear! Of course, happy to help,” he texted back simply.  He tossed his phone back into his desk and rubbed his temples, trying to ward off the oncoming headache.

Jinwoo got up when he heard a soft knock on the door, as Dongmin was in the shower. Holding Sanha to his chest, he opened the door to find Myungjun and Minhyuk, the former looking sheepish. “Dongmin texted me that Sanha had been released and Minhyukkie’s been dying to see him,” he explained as Jinwoo let him inside. “Min’s in the shower, but Sanha should be awake soon and we can all eat,” he said with a smile.

Moonbin was typing away furiously, trying to draft a revised contract for the company that provides their steel, which was due by the end of the day.  His boss, as well as he, knew it would be impossible to finish during his normal shift so once again Moonbin was resigned to staying late. Heaving a sigh when his coworkers began to leave, he leaned back from his laptop and pulled his hands over his head to stretch his back.  “Hope your boyfriend doesn’t mind you staying late,” one of the men quipped as he walked by, “Guess it’s a small price to pay considering everything else you’ve done.” Moonbin almost didn’t hear him and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he turned back to his computer.

Sanha had woken up finally and was able to eat some light soup before settling down with Minhyuk for another movie. Jinwoo felt bad sticking him in front of the TV all day, but there were only so many gentle activities Sanha was willing to do. “You know,” Myungjun said slowly as they washed the dishes, “I heard something at work today. Are you and Moon Bin dating?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Moonbin watched the rest of the floor file out of the office.  Several of the men snuck not so subtle glances at Moonbin and a couple even snickered as they walked by.  “If only he put that much effort into this department,” another worker commented. Moonbin’s fingers froze over his keyboard and he was growing increasingly frustrated.  He had no idea what had nearly his whole floor suddenly so against him, but it was incredibly disheartening.

“What the _fuck_?” Jinwoo said, dropping the plate in his hand into the sink with a clatter, “where the hell did you get that idea?” “He was with you and Sanha every day in the hospital, knew you prior to his crusade on the factories...people are starting to talk,” Myungjun said gently.

Moonbin finally finished the revised contract and immediately emailed it to his boss, not caring how late it was.  He dragged himself from his desk and made his way to his car, grateful to finally be going home.

“My job could be in jeopardy over this!” Jinwoo hissed, “I know he recommended me for the position.” Myungjun sighed and patted his back soothingly. “I won’t let anything happen,” he promised.

Moonbin had no idea how he got home, but was grateful he made the commute unscathed.  He was not the least bit surprised to find a response from his boss once again having him come in early.  Moonbin simply scowled at the message before disappearing into the bathroom, leaving his phone on the kitchen counter.

Once everything was cleaned and Myungjun had gone to sit with the kids, Jinwoo grabbed his phone. “Myungjun told me there’s some rumors starting around the factory,” he texted Moonbin.

Moonbin was surprised to find he had a text message when he went to set his alarm for the morning.  He was even more surprised to find it was from Jinwoo and was worried something had happened with Sanha.  Although he was relieved that was not the case, he was incredibly confused what the foreman was referring to.  Suddenly it all clicked and Moonbin realized that word must have gotten out around the company about what he did for Jinwoo and the factory.  With an angry sigh Moonbin simply typed back: “Yeah there are, but hopefully they die down soon.”

“Is there anything you can do about them? My job could be on the line,” Jinwoo replied. He walked into the living room to find both babies asleep, as well as Myungjun and Dongmin. With a smile, he woke Myungjun, urging him to take Minhyuk home. Once the two had left, he moved Sanha to his bed before carefully waking Dongmin and guiding the younger to bed as well.

The last thing Moonbin wanted to be doing right now was messaging Jinwoo, but with a disgruntled huff he typed out another message.  “Mine could be too. I don’t know, but I’m not particularly fond of the idea of making things worse.” He all but slammed his phone back down and ran his hands through his hair.  He would love to make this rumors disappear and the only idea he had at the moment to do that was disassociate himself with Jinwoo and hope his workers would be satisfied that he was simply trying to help.    

“You can afford that. I can’t,” Jinwoo sent back before placing his phone on the counter. He didn’t know what was making Moonbin so aggressive toward him, but he wasn’t just going to sit there and take it. Instead, he climbed into bed with Sanha and held the sleeping boy close to his chest.

Moonbin laid down and tried to ignore his phone, but he couldn’t do that.  With an angry huff, he rolled over and grabbed the device. He scoffed when he read Jinwoo’s last message.  Sure he had done pretty well for himself, but that didn’t mean he could easily afford to lose his job. “Right of course.  Don’t worry about this anymore. I’ll fix it. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough if I’m successful.” Moonbin put his phone down, screen down, after he pressed send.  He was incredibly annoyed that Jinwoo assumed his life would be perfectly fine if he lost his job. Despite the years he had put in at the company it was not nearly enough to get him another decent job in the city, let alone another decent job at all.   

Jinwoo heard his phone buzz in the other room but ignored it. Instead, he settled Sanha on his chest and fell asleep.

Moonbin was dreading work even more than usual, but he dragged himself out of bed regardless.  He spent the day minding his own business and ignoring the comments and snickers that floated through the office.  By lunchtime he decided that he would meet with his boss the following day to hopefully put an end to the obnoxious behavior of his coworkers.

By the next morning, Sanha was visibly doing much better. The boy had energy again and was finally able to eat normal foods again, instead of just soups. Jinwoo also heard back from the landlord, who told him that the apartment did in fact have toxic mold, which was what had made Sanha so sick before. Given the lack of trust he had in the old man, Jinwoo resolved to find a new apartment, closer to Dongmin, closer to the community center, and closer to work.

Moonbin didn’t dare to even open the drawer where he kept his phone, for fear of more comments starting.  Instead he kept his head down and busied himself making the countless edits his boss had marked on the contract.  Despite his best efforts, Moonbin was unable to avoid his coworkers for the day. His boss had called for a meeting in each sector to discuss the upcoming months goals.  Moonbin knew the meeting was purely to make his life hell, between his boss’ smirk when he announced the meeting and the fact that he hadn’t attended a monthly meeting like this in years.

Leaving Sanha in Dongmin’s care, Jinwoo traveled back to his apartment to get some more clothes and necessities. He would have to wash all of it to make sure there was no mold left, but he could do that at Dongmin’s.

Moonbin practically sprinted from the meeting room when it was over.  He kept his head up as he walked back to his desk, eyes straight ahead.  With a sigh he sank back into his chair and turned back to his computer. He already had a headache, but he didn’t dare work on anything else.  Hoping his headache wouldn’t get worse, Moonbin edited the contract until everyone was long gone before he finally pushed away from the computer to take a break.   He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, desperately running through ways to fix this.

Jinwoo was a little surprised that Moonbin hadn’t texted him, although he supposed he had probably offended the younger man. He knew the executive didn’t make quite as much as he thought he did, and of course losing a job would be hell for anyone. What Moonbin didn’t seem to understand, though, was that he had a cushion and Jinwoo didn’t. He would be okay for the few weeks it would take him to find another job. Jinwoo wouldn’t. Moonbin’s lack of self awareness was really the only thing keeping Jinwoo from texting an apology.

Moonbin ended up leaving the office a few hours earlier than he was supposed to.  He already knew he would have to go in early the following morning so he wasn’t opposed to leaving, especially considering he finished the edits.   Moonbin was pleasantly surprised Jinwoo hadn’t bothered him any further. It would probably be best for the both of them to limit the amount of contact they had anyway.  Once Moonbin met with his boss in the morning, he knew this whole thing would be resolved and they both would be able to go back to their own lives.

Jinwoo finally went back to work the next day. Dongmin had a day off, so he watched Sanha. Jinwoo could hear the whispers from the moment he walked in but he just kept his head up and ignored them.

Moonbin walked into his boss’ office first thing in the morning.  “These hours are unfair,” he began, “I can’t keep coming in when I’m not supposed to.  HR won’t be too happy with what you are doing.” His boss simply sat back in his chair and smirked at Moonbin, “You should have thought about that before you stuck your nose where it doesn’t belong.  I’m sure HR would love to here all about your little stunt as well. You know the rules about relationships within the company and I’d hate to see you face repercussions for it.” Moonbin took a step back, eyes wide. “Relationships? There is no relationship,” he growled, “there never was and there won’t ever be.  Conflict of interest was never an issue.” “I’m sure it won’t be an issue any longer,” his boss said nonchalantly, “now get back to work; you have a long day ahead of you.” Moonbin scowled as he turned to walk out, nothing had been solved, and if anything he was stuck in silence for fear of everything getting worse.

When the head foreman called Jinwoo into his office, he knew exactly what was about to happen. “It’s caught my attention that you’ve been seeing a shipping manager, the same one that recommended you for this job.” “We’re acquaintances and that’s it,” Jinwoo said coldly, “I don’t even _like_ Moonbin as a person, let alone as a partner.” “There’s a number of people asking that your job be placed under investigation to make sure that there’s no collusion going on. I’m sorry, but I have to suspend you without pay until further notice.” Jinwoo was fuming as he stormed out of the head foreman’s office. He pulled out his phone and texted Moonbin: “Fuck you.”

Moonbin was already angry from his meeting with his boss and the text from Jinwoo sent him over the edge.  “Listen I have no idea what happened, but it’s not my fault. So I suggest you start solving your own problems and leave me alone before things get any worse.”  Moonbin all but threw his phone down when he clicked send. He was grateful he was the only one left in the office. All he could do was wait and that was the worst part.

“I thought you were going to fix shit, but apparently not,” Jinwoo replied, seeing red as he typed, “I basically just got fired.” He threw his phone into his bag as he got onto the train.

“I tried, but all I’ve gotten is longer hours and the threat of losing my job if I do anything else.  My hands are tied.” Moonbin felt bad that Jinwoo had all but lost his job, but he was barely hanging onto his own and was in no position to fix anything at the moment.  If the situation was different he would offer to help Jinwoo until this all blew over, but that was no longer an option in Moonbin’s mind. Jinwoo had Dongmin and that was going to have to be good enough.

“You should’ve just left me alone when I asked you to,” Jinwoo typed back before switching to his chat with Myungjun and telling the union rep what had happened. He knew none of this was really Moonbin’s fault, but it certainly wasn’t his own and he needed to blame someone.

“I really should have,” Moonbin whispered to himself when he read Jinwoo’s message.  He didn’t have the heart to respond and instead focused on wrapping up his work so he could get home.

Apparently, the company was also suspecting Myungjun of being involved in his and Moonbin’s nonexistent scheme. Interestingly, he was placed on paid administrative leave, which was more than a little different from Jinwoo’s unpaid suspension. Jinwoo might as well start looking for a new job.

Moonbin steamed as he drove home.  Sure all of this was affecting Jinwoo much more, but it wasn’t like Moonbin was getting out of this scot free.  By the time he got home, he wasn’t so much angry as he was frustrated. He just wanted to help. Why did everything have to backfire on him like this?

“He’s ruining your life and you still feel bad for snapping at him? God, Jinwoo, I knew you were dumb but not this much,” Dongmin exclaimed when Jinwoo told him what had happened. The elder scowled. “That’s Jinwoo hyung to you,” he muttered, “look, all I’m asking is for you to ask around for me while you’re out.” Dongmin sighed but agreed

Moonbin thought about texting Jinwoo when he finally got home, but what was the point?  The foreman was obviously still angry with him and the less contact they had, the better everything would probably be.  Considering he was still frustrated, Moonbin decided to get to bed as quickly as possible. He had never been more grateful he didn’t have to set an alarm for the next morning than he was right now.  

Jinwoo spent a few hours with Sanha in an Internet cafe, searching for jobs that at least matched his previous salary - his furnace wages, not the foreman wages. He knew that was too much to hope for.

Moonbin slept well into the following morning; he hadn’t felt this refreshed in a long time, although it didn’t last long.  With a sigh he dragged himself out of bed and it the kitchen. He couldn’t help feeling guilty about what happened with Jinwoo, but he really couldn’t afford to do much else.  He picked up his phone and stared at the messages from yesterday, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. What would he even say? This wasn’t his fault so there was no point in apologizing and he wasn’t going to make more empty promises of fixing things.

Jinwoo managed to find a few places he could apply to and prepared his resume as quickly as possible. It was lacking for sure, but he needed to find something quickly. Good thing service sector jobs didn’t really need educated people.

After a little while, Moonbin finally swallowed his pride and sent Jinwoo one last message.  “I’m sorry things have been hard for you and I understand you’re angry, but none of this is my fault.  I wish I could fix everything, for both of our sakes, but there’s only so much I can too. I hope everything works out for you.”  He wasn’t looking for anything from Jinwoo, and he knew that the foreman probably wouldn’t respond, but he wasn’t worried, he had too much to focus on now that his work-life had been practically made into a living hell.

Jinwoo read Moonbin’s message with a sigh and sent back a simple message: “it’s fine. Good luck.” He hoped everything ended up working out for Moonbin. He pressed send on the text, then on his letter of resignation.

Moonbin didn’t dare respond to Jinwoo again, he had nothing more to say anyway.  He was surprised his boss didn’t demand he come in early on Monday and spent the rest of the weekend dreading that email, but it never came.  Monday morning rolled around and Moonbin arrived at work at his normal time, expecting to be chastised for being late, but he wasn’t.

Jinwoo ended up getting a job at a convenience store, one that gave him basically the same hours as the factory at the same rate. The couple of missed days in between meant it would still be a while until he could move out of Dongmin’s, but at least he had a job.

Moonbin was confused, but grateful that the chatter had gone down.  That confusion quickly turned to anxiousness when his boss called him into his office.  “I’m quite surprised it only took a week for you two to come to an agreement,” the boss said.  Moonbin knew he must be referring to Jinwoo, but he wasn’t sure what agreement he was referring to.  “I don’t understand,” Moonbin said slowly, “an agreement?” His boss looked as confused as Moonbin, “well you had to agree which one of you was going to give up your jobs and I’m glad it wasn’t you.  You’re a good worker and very valuable to this department.” Moonbin’s mind was running a mile a minute. He had no idea that Jinwoo had given up his job, and quite frankly Moonbin didn’t know how to feel.  “I had no idea he did that and it certainly wasn’t to protect me. I told you we aren’t together and I wasn’t lying,” Moonbin said as he stormed out.

Jinwoo hated his new job with a burning passion. Part of the reason he’d been so willing to work at the factory was because he didn’t have to deal with people. People were stupid and annoying and Jinwoo would much rather be back in the superheated furnaces than deal with another customer. Too bad Moonbin had ruined that for him.

Moonbin was seething as he walked back to his desk.  He didn’t particularly want to be in the office any longer, but he knew if he walked out he would never be able to come back.   Moonbin wasn’t sure if he felt more guilty or more angry at the company. He knew the investigation would have turned up empty so Jinwoo had no reason to give up his job; now Moonbin looked like an idiot for fighting so hard for him, only to have him walk out.  With a sigh Moonbin quickly finished his work so he could leave the minute his shift was over.

“How was work?” Jinwoo sent Dongmin a look full of exhaustion and tired rage. The younger smiled slightly before turning serious again. “So my lease is up next week,” he said nervously, “and I have no problems with you staying! But my landlord will demand that you pay half of the rent and I know you can’t...exactly...afford that.” Jinwoo sighed and rubbed his temples.

Moonbin quickly made his way home, absolutely infuriated.  He knew once a new foreman was put in that position that things would slowly start going back to how they were.  The union would certainly help, and he just hoped it would be enough. Moonbin felt so defeated, he had tried so hard to make things right and more harm than good had come out of it.

Jinwoo was just...tired. He would go to work and come home to take care of Sanha, all while trying to balance his bills, and now he needed to find a new apartment. As easy as it would be to go back to the old place, he would risk homelessness before he risked Sanha’s health again.

Despite things quieting down, it never quite went back to the way things were.  One night while he was looking through the company’s website he found an opening for a similar position to the one he currently holds at the branch in Busan.  Moonbin wouldn’t mind a change of scenery after all these years in Seoul so he decided to print out the application and the request to transfer to fill out.

Jinwoo didn’t think he’d ever hated someone more than he hated his manager when he was suddenly switched to night shifts. He was barely getting any sleep anymore and he never got to see Sanha. He was fortunate that Dongmin managed to convince his landlord to give them two more weeks before he kicked them out, but now Jinwoo only had two weeks to find an apartment. He was going crazy.

Moonbin had filled out both forms later that night and dropped them on his boss’ desk first thing the next morning.  “Are you sure you want to do this?” his boss asked with a raised eyebrow. “I need a change of scenery,” Moonbin said simply.   “You’ll hear back in two to three weeks if you get it.” Moonbin nodded and headed back to his desk; it was going to be a long next couple of weeks.

Jinwoo finally, finally found a place in his price range and immediately demanded that it be inspected for mold and other toxins. When the report came back clean, he and Sanha were in the next day. It was near enough to Dongmin and the community center to still be convenient, but it was a bit of a trip to work.

Moonbin hadn’t heard anything after two weeks and he began to get worried.  He hoped his boss hadn’t put in word against him. Moonbin decided to wait one more week before he started looking elsewhere.

It took a few days for Jinwoo and Sanha to adjust to the new apartment. And by adjust, he meant Sanha absolutely hated it. It was just another stress to add to the millions in Jinwoo’s life already.

Moonbin was nervous when he was finally called into his boss’ office.  His boss wordlessly slid a piece of paper across the desk. Moonbin eyed the paper nervously, but made his way across the room to pick it up.  Upon flipping it over, he realized it was a contract for the new job. “They want to interview you for the position,” his boss said, “It will be first thing on Monday morning.”  Moonbin thanked his boss and disappeared from the office with the contact information in hand.

Jinwoo was exhausted and broke. He had to take Sanha to the cafe down the street just to get him to stop crying and fall asleep, which meant he had to buy something every time he was there. It was beginning to take a major toll on him. He had no idea what had his nephew hating the apartment so much, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to take it much longer.

Moonbin finally began making his way to his car after work.  He was excited about the interview and decided to spend the whole upcoming weekend in Busan to explore the city.  However, when he climbed into his car he found that it wouldn’t start. Luckily he had jumper cables in the trunk and one of his coworkers was willing to help, but unfortunately that didn’t fix the problem.  One phone call and almost two hours later a tow truck had finally come to bring the car to the garage. Moonbin dragged himself to the bus stop and hoped he would be able to have his car back in the next couple of days.   

It seemed Sanha didn’t want to calm down, like he knew Jinwoo would have him back in the apartment the moment he fell asleep. Exhausted, Jinwoo took to roaming around, hoping the rhythm of walking would lull Sanha to sleep.

Moonbin stared out the window, anxious to get home.  As they approached one of the stops, he noticed Jinwoo walking around with Sanha in his arms.  He knew Jinwoo probably wouldn’t want to talk to him, but he wanted to try to clear things up and he wasn’t sure he would have another opportunity.  With a loud sigh he stood up and made his way off the bus.

Jinwoo was so tired that he was barely even paying attention to where he was walking. Only the weight of Sanha in his arms and the cold January wind kept him from zoning out completely.

Moonbin slowly made his way over to where Jinwoo was walking.  “I know I’m the last person you want to see right now, but I wanted to talk to you in person,” he said gently as he approached the shorter man.

Jinwoo flinched when someone suddenly started talking to him and looked around to see Moonbin. “What?” he asked dumbly after a minute, realizing he hadn’t actually heard a word the younger had said.

Moonbin sighed, “I wanted to talk with you in person.  I’m sorry to bother you if you’re busy.” He took a step back and braced himself for Jinwoo to be angry with him.

Jinwoo blinked slowly then made a face as Sanha started wailing again. “I can’t go in anywhere with him crying like this,” he said with a tired sigh, “and he won’t stop crying in the cold and he won’t stop crying if we go home. If you can take him and get him to _shut up_ just for...five minutes, I’ll do whatever the fuck you want.” He paused. “Please.”

Moonbin’s eyes widened as they darted between Jinwoo and a very upset Sanha.  Taking a deep breath, he slowly reached out his arms. “Come here, Sanha,” he said gently as he took the baby from Jinwoo.

Jinwoo handed Sanha over with a relieved sigh and shook his head, trying to wake himself up. He didn’t know what was making the boy so upset, but it was driving him nearly to tears too.

"Aw, it's okay, Sanha," Moonbin cooed.  He winced when he saw the baby's red hands, and shifted Sanha in his arms so he could hold him closer, trying to keep him warm.  Carefully positioning Sanha so he could hold him with one arm; Moonbin took the baby's small hands in his own. "We need to get the both of you out of the cold," he began slowly, "my apartment isn't far from here if you want to go there to warm up."

“Wherever,” Jinwoo said, his teeth chattering. He was freezing and anywhere warm was good for him right now, even if it meant following Moonbin.

“This way,” Moonbin said as he strode off.  His apartment was only a block and a half away so they wouldn’t be in the cold much longer.  He hugged Sanha tightly against himself, doing his best to shield the baby from the cold. Not more than ten minutes later, they were outside Moonbin’s apartment and he quickly fished his keys out of his pocket to let them all inside.

Jinwoo did his best to not peer around Moonbin’s apartment. He didn’t need another reminder of all the ways he’d been fucked over recently. If anything, he just wanted to take a nap.

“Please make yourself comfortable,” Moonbin said as he toed his shoes off.  He made his way into the kitchen, not worrying about his jacket. “Would you like some coffee?” he asked as he switched the coffee maker on.  He was hoping that once Sanha warmed up he would calm down, although Moonbin was still nervous about how the boy would be in a strange place.

“You have no idea,” Jinwoo said as he removed his shoes and followed Moonbin into the kitchen. “I can take him back now, it’s okay,” he said, holding his hands out to take Sanha.

Moonbin snuck one last glance at the toddler before passing him back to his uncle.  He didn’t know what it was about Sanha, but the kid was absolutely adorable and he was almost sad to give him back.  He quickly turned his attention back to the coffee pot. Moonbin chewed his bottom lip nervously; he hadn’t had a chance to really talk to Jinwoo about why he quit, but he wasn’t particularly fond of bringing up work right now.  Instead he settled with, “I’m glad Sanha’s feeling better.”

“Yeah, it’s been a long couple of weeks,” Jinwoo said with a sigh. He settled Sanha on Moonbin’s counter and carefully unzipped his puffy coat, trying to avoid the flying baby fists as the boy kept crying. He started to calm down once he wasn’t bundled up so tight and Jinwoo picked him back up.

“I can imagine,” Moonbin mumbled.  He busied himself fixing two cups of coffee and handing one to Jinwoo.  “You might be more comfortable on the couch,” Moonbin said gesturing to the small living space he had next to the kitchen.

Jinwoo took the coffee in one hand and made his way into the living room. He set the mug on the coffee table and settled himself and Sanha on the couch before picking it up and taking a sip.

Moonbin slipped his jacket off and hung it up in the closet.  Grabbing his own coffee, he made his way into the living room and sat down in the chair.  He took a sip of his drink while mentally prepared himself to address the elephant in the room.  “I know this is the last thing you want to talk about,” he said slowly, “but I hope you understand that I never intended for anything like this to happen.”

Jinwoo sighed. “I know,” he said quietly, “and I shouldn’t have blamed you for everything. It’s just really easy to be angry at the people who have less to lose, even when the situation hurts them too.” He bounced Sanha gently on his knee, glad the boy was slowly calming down.

Moonbin was quite surprised when Jinwoo didn't snap at him and continue to blame him.  He was grateful there was a mutual understanding that it was neither of their faults, but that didn't fix the problem.  Taking another small sip of coffee, Moonbin sat back in the chair and watched Sanha curiously. He was grateful there was no animosity between him and Jinwoo, but instead there was an awkward tension in the air.  

“I never got to properly thank you for your help when he was sick,” Jinwoo said after a few minutes of awkward silence. He really did owe Moonbin for that. Just knowing that someone else was around if he needed help had taken a huge weight off.

“Don’t worry about it,” Moonbin said quickly, “it was the least I could do.”  Checking his watch, he realized how late it was getting and he wasn’t sure if Jinwoo had had a chance to eat.  “Did you eat yet? You two are more than welcome to stay, but it’ll take me a few minutes to put something together.”  He sat up in the chair so he could finish the rest of his coffee.

“I didn’t but I don’t want to impose,” Jinwoo said. He looked down at Sanha and found the boy asleep. “On second thought, dinner would be great.” He shifted the boy in his arms so he was seated more comfortably.

Moonbin smiled and nodded as he stood up from the chair.  “I don’t have much here,” he admitted slowly. He made his way into the kitchen and look through the cabinets, frowning at how bare they were.  The only thing he had enough of for all of them was noodles. With a sigh he took the package down from the cabinet and hummed quietly to himself as he prepared dinner.

Jinwoo stayed on the couch, turning himself so that Sanha could lay down properly on his chest. He finally pulled the boy’s coat off, draping it over the back of the couch. With a fond smile, he stroked his nephew’s hair, watching him sleep peacefully.

Moonbin finally set the finished noodles on the table, and pushed his paperwork for the transfer out of the way.  “The food is ready,” he called to Jinwoo. He quickly set the table before filling glasses of water for them.

Jinwoo continued stroking Sanha’s hair and felt his own eyelids grow heavier. By the time Moonbin was done with dinner, he was out like a light, able to sleep peacefully for the first time in weeks.

Moonbin frowned slightly when Jinwoo didn’t get up and quietly made his way into the living room, revealed that he had fallen asleep.  A small smile found its way to Moonbin’s lips as he took in the sight of Jinwoo sleeping peacefully with his nephew on his chest. After a moment, Moonbin made his way back to the kitchen and forgoed cleaning up, not wanting to make too much noise, and instead slid into a seat at the table so he could review what he needed to bring to his interview.  

Jinwoo had a very odd dream. It was a few years in the future, as evidenced by the fact that Sanha was visibly older. They had a nice apartment and Jinwoo seemed to work an office job of some sort. However, none of that was the weird part. The weird part was that he and Moonbin, for some reason, lived together. In the same room. And the same bed. When he woke up a little while later, he was mortified.

Moonbin looked up when he heard rustling coming from the couch.  He assumed Jinwoo had woken up from his nap and began cleaning up the papers so he could reset the table.  “Come eat before the food gets any colder,” he called. He was glad that Jinwoo and Sanha were able to get some rest, even though it wasn’t for very long.

With a small groan, Jinwoo sat up. He adjusted Sanha, who was still asleep, to lay over his shoulder and wandered into the kitchen. “Sorry for falling asleep on you,” he said sheepishly, pausing in the doorway.

“Don’t worry about it.  I’m glad you were able to get some rest,” Moonbin said.  “Please, come sit down,” he added, gesturing to the table.  He knew things were going to be awkward between them for awhile, and he couldn’t help but feel almost...disappointed.

Sanha whined as Jinwoo shifted him around again when he sat, but thankfully stayed asleep. Jinwoo slouched down in the chair so Sanha could rest more easily and picked up a pair of chopsticks.

“Sanha’s getting big,” Moonbin commented.  Even though he had only known the pair for a few months he could definitely tell Sanha had grown in that time.  “His birthday is coming up soon, right?”

“Yeah,” Jinwoo said with a sigh, “he’ll be two in March.” It was crazy to think that so much time had passed since Sanha had come to stay with him. The boy had grown so much.

Moonbin nodded and made a mental note so that he wouldn’t forget to wish the baby a happy birthday when it rolled around.  “What are you doing for work now?” Moonbin asked slowly. He really didn’t want to bring it up, but he had to know if Jinwoo had at least gotten a decent job.

“Retail,” Jinwoo said, unable to help the look of disgust that crossed his face, “I work nights at a convenience store. It’s not ideal but it’s better than nothing.”

Moonbin sighed sadly as he turned his head down.  He felt horrible. “I’m sorry that doesn’t sound enjoyable at all,” he whispered.  Despite doing nothing wrong, he still knew that Jinwoo was in this position because of him.  The only thing that helped Moonbin feel better was that this was certainly much safer than when he was working on the furnaces.  

“There’s pros and cons,” Jinwoo said, “on one hand, it’s safer and there’s never customers in the middle of the night, but on the other hand, I hardly get to see Sanha anymore.” It had been a tough few weeks but he was getting the hang of it.

Moonbin glanced up and his eyes landed on the toddler, happily asleep in his uncle’s arms.  “That must be so hard,” he barely murmured the words. He felt so guilty and the more he thought about it the more he realized this transfer would be better for everyone.

Jinwoo nodded. He wasn’t going to sugarcoat it. Everything fucking sucked right now, but at least he had people around him willing to help.

With a sigh Moonbin stood up from the table to bring his dish to the sink.  “Take your time finishing,” he said, “I’m just going to get a head start on these dishes.”   He debated asking about the apartment but knowing how much Sanha hated it, he decided against it.

Jinwoo ate most of the dish single handedly, but bounced Sanha awake at the end. The boy was still sleepy but seemed eager to eat, so Jinwoo helped him with the pasta.

Moonbin cleaned up the kitchen, washing the dishes and wiping down the stove.  After he was done he slipped back into the chair and watched Jinwoo feed Sanha the last bit of pasta.

Once Sanha was done with his pasta, he clung to Jinwoo once more, mumbling that he was tired. Jinwoo rubbed his back and let him cling, knowing it was better for him to fall back asleep here than to try and take him home.

Moonbin smiled softly as he watched Sanha cuddle back up to his uncle.  “I didn’t know he was starting to talk,” he commented. He hadn’t quite made out what Sanha had said, but he certainly heard the word ‘tired.’

“He started a little late actually, but he’s quite the talker now that he wants to,” Jinwoo said with a soft smile. If there was one thing he could be proud of, it was that, for all his lacking opportunities, Sanha was still developmentally on track with his peers. He was a smart kid.

“That must be the cutest thing,” Moonbin said with a small chuckle.  The thought of Sanha babbling a mile a minute was adorable to him. It was nice to see Jinwoo smile, even if it was only for a fleeting moment.  Moonbin had caused him so much hardship so he was glad that he was able to help Jinwoo relax for a little.

“It is, until Dongmin starts babbling back,” Jinwoo said with a smile. He rubbed Sanha’s back, trying to lull the boy back to sleep. He was still feeling the effects of having been sick, which made him tired all the time.

Moonbin couldn’t help but laugh, “I believe it.”  He sat back, smiling at the thought of Dongmin and Sanha babbling together.  He had to admit, it was odd, sitting here with Jinwoo. Although it was probably the most pleasant conversation the two had shared, and Moonbin much preferred this to their conversations of the past.

Jinwoo sighed and sat up straight. “We should get going,” he said, “thank you for dinner, and helping me with him.” It meant a lot that Moonbin was willing to put aside their differences for Sanha’s benefit and he thought back to his weird dream.

“It’s the least I can do,” Moonbin said.  He hadn’t realized how late it was getting and he just remembered he had to take the bus in the morning because he still didn’t have his car back.  “You’re always welcome. If Sanha gets too upset at the new place you can bring him over to calm down. He seems okay with it here,” he added as he slowly stood from the table.

“I really have no idea what his problem is,” Jinwoo said as he stood up with the boy on his hip, “I’m about ready to call an exorcist.” He went into the living room to get Sanha’s coat and wrapped it around the boy’s back in lieu of putting it on. He didn’t want to risk waking him up.

Moonbin snorted.  “Well if you would like to take less drastic measures, just come here,” he said with a small chuckle, “although I’m sure he’ll come around soon.”  He hoped that Sanha was just having a hard time with change and that there wasn’t something wrong with the apartment.

Jinwoo twisted his wrist to look at his watch and cursed internally when he realized the buses were no longer running. In warm weather, it wouldn’t be a problem, but in the cold, even a few blocks felt like miles.

Moonbin was surprised when Jinwoo didn’t move, but one glance at the clock at the wall told him exactly why.  “Oh no,” he mumbled, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how late it had gotten. I would offer to drive you home, but my car is in the shop.”  He sighed, luck really hadn’t been on his side lately. “You can stay here tonight,” Moonbin offered slowly, “It’s much too cold for you to walk.”

“No, no, I couldn’t ask that of you,” Jinwoo said quickly. He tried to think. He couldn’t call Myungjun; he would have to ether leave Minhyuk behind alone or wake him up to bring him along and neither was a good idea. He couldn’t call Dongmin; the younger didn’t have a car. He was well and truly stuck.

“I know there’s not a lot of room, but I really don’t like the idea of you two going out in the cold this late,” Moonbin said.  He didn’t want to force Jinwoo to stay, but he didn’t want them trying to get home at this hour. Moonbin would feel terrible if Sanha got sick again because of the cold.

“I really don’t want to impose,” Jinwoo said hesitantly as he took a step toward the door. He could brave a few blocks through the brutal wind, right? Right?

“I would feel horrible if either of you got sick, especially because Sanha is just getting better,” Moonbin said quickly, “It’s just one night, Jinwoo.”  He knew Jinwoo would never believe they weren’t imposing, but he hoped for Sanha’s sake that he agreed to stay.

Damn. Moonbin knew just how to get him. “Fine,” Jinwoo relented, “But we’re taking the couch and we’ll be gone before you get up. Okay?”

“Whatever you’re most comfortable with,” Moonbin agreed.  He was relieved they weren’t going out in the cold tonight, although he hoped they didn’t leave too early. He made his way down the small hallway to grab some blankets and a pillow from the closet, grateful that he had extra.

Jinwoo was glad that Moonbin didn’t push the issue and went to hang his and Sanha’s coats near the door. “Do you have an old shirt I can borrow?” He asked, “I don’t want him to have to sleep in jeans.”

“Yeah absolutely,” Moonbin said as he disappeared into his bedroom.  He grabbed an old t-shirt from the bottom drawer of his dresser and made his way back to the living room.  “Is this okay?” he asked as he offered the shirt to Jinwoo.

“Perfect,” Jinwoo said as he took the shirt, “Thank you so much, Bin.” The nickname slipped out unintentionally but Jinwoo didn’t regret it. He carefully set Sanha down on the couch and unfolded the shirt.

“No problem,” Moonbin said with a small smile.  It was odd to hear the nickname, especially from Jinwoo, but he definitely wasn’t opposed to it.  “Do you need anything else?” he asked as he stifled a yawn.

“I’m all set,” Jinwoo said quietly. He carefully pulled the shirt over Sanha’s head, pulling it to cover him before taking over his daytime clothes underneath. He didn’t want the boy to get too cold, especially with how sick he’d just been.

“Alright.  Glasses are in the upper cabinet to the right of the fridge if you get thirsty and the bathroom is at the end of the hall on the left,” Moonbin explained, “my room is at the end of the hall on the right if you need anything else.”

“Thank you. Sleep well, Moonbin,” Jinwoo said with a smile as he lifted the blankets and settled himself and his nephew on the couch. He was short enough to fit without laying his head at an awkward angle, which meant he and Sanha were both comfortable.

“You too,” Moonbin whispered as he disappeared down the hallway.  He quickly washed up before making his way into his room. No sooner had he climbed into bed was he already drifting off to sleep.  He couldn’t help but marvel at the day he had before finally falling asleep.

Jinwoo fell asleep pretty quickly after he had laid down. He held Sanha to his chest tightly so that the boy wouldn’t fall if he rolled over in his sleep. He was more than used to sharing a sleeping space with his nephew. He set an alarm for 5:30, set it to vibrate, and shoved it under the pillow.

Moonbin blinked his eyes open to reveal his room was still pitch black.  Fumbling around in the dark, he finally found his phone and squinted at the bright light when he clicked it on.  Upon realizing it was only five am, Moonbin happily rolled over and went back to sleep.

Jinwoo’s phone buzzed at 5:30 on the dot and he was up immediately. Gathering his and Sanha’s coats, he wrapped them around the boy and carefully snuck out of the apartment. Once he was in the lobby of the building, he set Sanha down on a bench while he put on his own coat. Picking the boy up again, he braved the outdoors for the five block walk home.

Moonbin shut his alarm off almost immediately after it went off.  He barely wanted to get up for work, and today was no exception. Heaving a sigh, he sat up and forced himself out of bed so he make his way to the bathroom.  Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of the couch and tiptoed his way into the living room. However once he got closer he realized that Jinwoo had already left.  He frowned slightly as he turned back around. Jinwoo did say he would be out of the apartment before Moonbin was awake so Moonbin wasn’t quite sure why he was so...disappointed.

Between the cold, his exhaustion, and Sanha starting to wake up, it took Jinwoo nearly an hour to make the trip home. Once he was home, he settled the boy back in bed and texted Moonbin to thank him. “Jinsam,” a tiny voice whined from the bedroom, making Jinwoo smile as he too went back to bed.

When Moonbin finally had a chance to look at his phone he saw that Jinwoo had texted his thanks earlier that morning.  He replied with a simple “anytime” sighing sadly when he saw the timestamp of the original message. Pocketing his phone he headed to the bus stop, hoping that his car would be ready that afternoon.

Jinwoo woke up to find snow piled against his window. Apparently, while he and Sanha had slept, a sudden snowstorm had come in and blanketed the city. He texted his manager, letting her know that there was no way he’d be able to make it in.

As Moonbin stared out the window of the bus he noticed a few small flakes of snow were beginning to fall.  He hoped it was just a flurry, but luck was, once again, not on his side. Upon looking out the window on his way to his boss’ office, Moonbin found that the ground was covered in quite a few inches of snow.  “The Busan branch informed me that the position has been filled and they no longer need to interview you,” his boss said. “What happened?,” Moonbin asked desperately, “I thought you were going to put in a good word.”  He was looking forward to the opportunity of the transfer for a fresh start, but that wasn’t going to happen. “I don’t know what to tell you Bin-ssi,” his boss said with a shrug, “unfortunately the position is filled and if you would still like your job in this branch I suggest you get back to work.”  Moonbin sighed and headed back to his desk, hoping the roads would be plowed by the time he had to leave.

Sanha woke up not long after Jinwoo, but thankfully didn’t start crying. He seemed to recognize that being in the apartment was better than being outside of it. Jinwoo made him some macaroni and plopped him on the couch to watch a movie. The snow didn’t let up at all.

Moonbin sighed in defeat when he looked outside and saw the roads still covered in snow and no buses to be seen.  All of his coworkers that he talked to lived on this side of city so he knew none would be willing to drive him home.  He debated texting Myungjun, but the two weren’t very close so Moonbin decided against it. His last resort was Jinwoo, but he had no idea where his apartment was and he felt funny asking for a favor.  Moonbin was completely stuck and Jinwoo was really his only hope, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to type up a message. At least not yet.

Jinwoo grew more worried as the snow kept falling. He had already checked on Dongmin, who was staying home from work as well. He checked on Myungjun, who confirmed that he and Minhyuk were safe and that the factory had been closed for the day. The only other person was Moonbin. The executive obviously had something wrong with his car, as he’d been on the bus the day before, and Jinwoo was worried he would get stuck somewhere. Central office was only a five minute walk from his apartment if the man was willing to brave the snow. He texted Moonbin: “Are you home or at work?”

Moonbin was confused that Jinwoo texted him, but he was incredibly relieved.  “I’m still at the office, but I’m figuring out how to get home,” he sent back.  He was a little surprised that Jinwoo was concerned with where he was, but he was appreciative nonetheless.

“I’m five minutes from you if you’re willing to brave the snow,” Jinwoo sent back. Sanha was down for a nap, the heat was working, his fridge was stocked, and he owed Moonbin for letting him stay the night before.

Moonbin let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding when he read Jinwoo’s response.  “A five minute walk is worth not being stuck in this office any longer. Thank you so much.” He quickly hit send and donned his jacket, gloves, hat, and scarf as he made his way to the entrance of the building, waiting for Jinwoo to respond with his address.

Jinwoo sent his address to Moonbin and made sure the front door was unlocked. He was right on the first floor and the door was clearly marked with Park Jinwoo and Yoon Sanha. Moonbin should be able to find it easily.

Once Moonbin received the address he took a deep breath and finally stepped into the cold.  The wind was biting and the snow was still coming down heavily, but Moonbin trudged on. He kept his head down for most of the walk, only able to lift it for a moment or two to look at the street signs.  A little over five minutes later, Moonbin had let himself into Jinwoo’s apartment building. He stomped most of the snow off of his shoes and dusted himself off before making his way down the hallway. Thankfully Jinwoo and Sanha’s names were on the door so Moonbin didn’t have to look very far.  He knocked lightly on the door and quickly realized it was already unlocked. “Jinwoo?” he called as he slowly opened the door and stepped just inside.

“In the kitchen!” Jinwoo called when he heard Moonbin call his name, “you can leave your coat and shoes by the door.” The apartment was tiny, barely a shoebox, with just four rooms total. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

Moonbin stepped out of his shoes and began to take off all his extra layers.  The heat in the apartment felt wonderful in comparison to the blistering cold he was just in.  He left his things by the door and slowly made his way to the kitchen. “Thank you so much for letting me come here.  I am truly sorry about this, but you are an absolute lifesaver,” Moonbin said quickly when he entered the room.

“Hey, I owe you for last night,” Jinwoo said as he turned down the stove. He was making pasta with meat sauce and cheese for dinner, a nice warm dish to heat them all up. The tiny table was already set; he just needed his nephew. “Can you go wake up Sanha for me?”

“Absolutely,” Moonbin said quietly, “which room is his?”  He rubbed his hands together, trying to get the feeling back in his numb fingertips.

“There’s only one bedroom,” Jinwoo said quietly, suddenly embarrassed. One bedroom, one bed, and the hope that Jinwoo didn’t roll over at night.

Moonbin simply nodded before disappearing down the hallway.  He felt bad for even asking and made his way to the bedroom. “Sanha” he called quietly as he entered the room, “dinner is ready.”  He slowly walked toward the bed. “Sanha, it’s time to get up,” he whispered as he approached the side of the bed. The sleepy toddler simply whined and Moonbin chuckled softly as he carefully lifted Sanha into his arms and carried him into the kitchen.

Jinwoo’s heart felt like it skipped a beat when he saw Moonbin walk in with Sanha curled into his chest. It was so oddly domestic and Jinwoo felt weird even feeling that way. He and Moonbin were nothing but friends, so why was his brain so determined to convince him otherwise?

“He’s still a little sleepy,” Moonbin said with a small chuckle.  He whispered to the toddler, trying to coax him awake. After a few minutes, Sanha picked his head off of Moonbin’s shoulder.  He kept a nervous eye on the toddler, hoping he didn’t get upset.

“There should be a bib on the counter so he doesn’t get too messy,” Jinwoo said, pointing vaguely as he plated the food, “his seat is the one with the arms and the booster.”

Moonbin made his way over to the counter and grabbed the bib before bringing Sanha over to the table.  He gently placed the toddler in his seat and fastened the bib around his neck. “There ya go, big guy,” he said quietly as he smoothed the bib out so it covered his whole shirt.  

Jinwoo set the plates on the table and grabbed utensils out of the drawer. “Dig in,” he said as he sat in his usual chair and gestures for Moonbin to take Dongmin’s seat across from him.

“Thank you,” Moonbin said as he slipped into the empty chair Jinwoo gestured too.  He picked up a pair of chopsticks and happily took a bite of the pasta. Moonbin hummed happily; he wasn’t a bad cook per say, but he usually stuck to the same couple of recipes he was used to so it was always nice to have something different.  

Jinwoo helped Sanha get a good grip on his fork and start eating before he touched his own meal. As much as he tried to keep the boy clean, tomato sauce still ended up all over his face, but Sanha was cute enough to get away with it.

A smile spread across Moonbin’s lips as he watched Sanha dig into his pasta, effectively smearing tomato sauce all over his face.  The baby was getting more food on his face than in his mouth, but it was positively adorable. Moonbin’s eyes slowly drifted from Sanha to Jinwoo and he felt his breath hitch in his throat.  Jinwoo was looking at Sanha with soft eyes and the fondest smile on his face. He quickly realized he was staring and with a small shake of his head, forced his eyes down so he wouldn’t get caught.  Moonbin had no idea why Jinwoo had left him so flustered all of the sudden and he tried to focus on eating so he didn’t give himself away.

Jinwoo reached over with a napkin and cleaned the pasta sauce off Sanha’s face, smiling when the boy whined cutely in protest. He knew he would just get messy again, but at least it wouldn’t be completely caked on.

“Someone’s gonna need a bath after dinner,” Moonbin said lightly.  He was mesmerized by how happy Sanha was at being dirty. It was cute to watch Jinwoo attempt to clean him up and Moonbin almost felt like he was intruding on a family moment.

“Oh, for sure,” Jinwoo said with a nod. Sanha was absolutely filthy by now, but at least he wasn’t crying. Anything was better than seeing his nephew cry.

“Does he usually get this dirty when he eats?” Moonbin asked.  He didn’t really have any experience with babies so he was absolutely fascinated by Sanha.

“Yeah,” Jinwoo said with a small laugh, “he’s very...enthusiastic about food. I don’t make things with sauce very often though, so he usually isn’t this bad.” That was if Jinwoo cooked at all. Many of their meals were freezer items just because they were cheaper.

“That’s adorable,” Moonbin whispered.  He continued watching Sanha eat, eyes occasionally darting to Jinwoo, as he finished his own plate of pasta.

Jinwoo finally ate his own food before it got too cold. Once he was finished, he took his plate and Sanha’s over to the sink and left them there. He picked the boy up, dropping his bib near the sink as well. “I’m gonna go clean him up,” he said, “you can leave your plate by the sink; I’ll wash it after.”

“Ok,” Moonbin said.  He stood up and slowly made his way to the sink.  He waited for Jinwoo to take Sanha into the bathroom and listened for running water before he began washing the dishes.  There was no way he was going to leave dirty dishes for Jinwoo to do after he was nice enough to let Moonbin crash here. Moonbin washed and dried the dishes, leaving them on the counter so he could ask Jinwoo where they went we he returned.  With a sigh he turned to the bib, hoping that rinsing it off would suffice.

Jinwoo set Sanha in the tub full of warm, soapy water, laughing as the boy immediately began to splash around. Once he managed to get him to sit still, he cleaned him off quickly then let him play around a bit longer. Once the water started to cool off, Jinwoo lifted him out and wrapped him in a huge towel.

Once Moonbin was satisfied with the state of Sanha’s bib he focused his attention on where Sanha was sitting.  There was quite a bit of sauce on the table and his chair so he wet some paper towels and got to work wiping the area down.

Jinwoo carried his Sanha burrito into the bedroom and dressed him in warm flannel pajamas. The boy was like a furnace already and would certainly help keep Jinwoo warm through the night.

Moonbin threw away the soiled paper towels and got a few more to dry the areas he wiped down.  When he was done he made his way over to the living room window to peer outside. It was dark and there were no signs of any plows let alone buses.  Moonbin sighed dejectedly, he had no idea how he was going to get home and he felt bad imposing on Jinwoo for the night.

Jinwoo returned to the living room with a clingy Sanha in his arms. The boy had a pacifier to keep him quiet and seemed almost on the verge of sleep again. “Thanks for cleaning up,” Jinwoo whispered.

Moonbin turned around when he heard Jinwoo enter the room.  “No problem. You cooked so it’s only fair that I cleaned up.  I’m not sure where your dishes go and you’ll have to double check that I cleaned Sanha’s bib right, but everything else should be all set,” he said hurriedly.  Moonbin wasn’t sure why he was so nervous all of the sudden, maybe it was the thought of having to ask Jinwoo if he could stay.

“If you can take him for a minute, I’ll grab some linens for the couch,” Jinwoo said. There was no way he was letting Moonbin back out into the snow, not while the busses couldn’t run. Even if they weren’t really friends, he still didn’t want to see the younger get hurt or sick.

“Thank you,” Moonbin sighed, grateful that Jinwoo had almost read his mind.  He made his way across the room to take a now clean Sanha back into his arms.  Bouncing slightly, he hoped that would help keep Sanha calm and maybe even lure the toddler back to sleep.  As guilty as he felt for staying, he knew he had no other choice, the weather was just too bad.

Once Jinwoo was Sanha free, he grabbed some blankets and pillows out of the hall closet, using them to soften his old couch as much as he could. “The only clothes I have that’ll fit you are Dongmin’s and he’s not quite as...muscular as you are so they might be a little tight,” he said slowly.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Moonbin said appreciatively, “thank you so much for letting me stay.  I really appreciate it and I hope I’m not imposing too much.” He turned his attention back to Sanha, just as the toddler dropped his head onto Moonbin’s shoulder.  He smiled softly, grateful that Sanha was staying quiet.

Jinwoo disappeared into the bedroom and pulled out some of Dongmin’s pajamas that the younger left for when he babysat. He set them on the bed and returned to the living room, smiling at the image of Sanha half asleep on Moonbin’s shoulder. “The clothes are on the bed, bathroom’s across the hall from the bedroom,” he said, reaching out to take his nephew back.

“Wonderful, thank you,” Moonbin said as he slowly picked Sanha up off his shoulder.  He regretfully handed him back to Jinwoo before heading to the bedroom to grab the clothes.   Moonbin quickly got changed and washed up. The pants fit fine and although the shirt was a little snug, it was better than nothing and considering the situation, Moonbin was extremely grateful.

Jinwoo sat on the couch, kicking his feet up so he could lay Sanha on his chest. Using one hand to secure his nephew, he used the other to pull the blankets over them. It was late and he was exhausted.

Moonbin made his way back out to the living room and was surprised to find Jinwoo laying on the couch.  He balked at the sight; there was no way he was sleeping in Jinwoo’s bed in his own apartment. “Jinwoo,” he whispered, “I can sleep out here.”

“No, take the bed,” he said quietly, “it’s a lot warmer in there and you won’t fit on my couch.”

“No,” Moonbin insisted, “I am not sleeping in your bed and leaving the two of you out here.  I’m sure I’ll fit just fine.” He wanted Jinwoo and Sanha to be comfortable in their own apartment and there was no way they could do that while cramped on the couch.

“ _I’m_ too short for this couch,” Jinwoo said, wiggling his toes from on top of the arm, “at least I can lay without getting my neck bent weird and still cover my feet.”

“Jinwoo, I really don’t feel comfortable sleeping in your bed,” Moonbin was practically pleading at this point, “it’s just for a couple of hours, I’ll be fine on the couch.”   He could tell Jinwoo was exhausted and he felt bad for arguing, but he truly didn’t like the idea of Jinwoo and Sanha squished on the small couch.

Jinwoo fixed Moonbin with a stern look and motioned toward the bedroom. The movement jostled Sanha, who let out a whiny “Jinsam” and snuggled closer.

“Jinwoo, please,” Moonbin begged, “I feel bad enough that I showed up last minute and I would feel even worse if you two stayed out here.”  Sanha was obviously exhausted as well and Moonbin knew that the toddler needed a good night’s rest he wasn’t going to get on the couch.

“Well, I’m not letting you sleep on the couch, so suck it up,” Jinwoo said, shaking his head. This was the only option he’d be willing to consider, he told himself.

Moonbin huffed, he couldn’t believe how thick Jinwoo was being.  “Sanha needs to get a good night’s rest, especially considering he’s just starting to feel better and you know he won’t be able to do that on the couch,” Moonbin said flatly.  He didn’t want to sound rude, but he couldn’t help it; he just had to be sure Jinwoo and Sanha slept in their own bed.

“I’m not letting you sleep on the couch,” Jinwoo said again. He never let Dongmin sleep on the couch either, but he and the younger were comfortable enough to share a bed.

“Jinwoo...” Moonbin trailed off.  He was certain that using Sanha would work, but it hadn’t this time.  He had no idea what to do and was left to stand dumbfounded in the middle of Jinwoo’s living room.

“He’s already asleep,” Jinwoo said quietly, “I’ll just grab a sweatshirt and everything will be fine, okay?” He hoped Moonbin would stop arguing with him.

“Please, I’ll share with you if that means everyone can be comfortable,” Moonbin blurted out.  He chewed his nervously, not sure how Jinwoo would react. Being so forward wasn’t his intention, but he was getting desperate and that was the last thing he could think of.

Jinwoo paused. “You don’t have to do that, Bin,” he said, “Sanha and I will be fine out here.” As he said it, the toddler shivered against his chest and he knew he really couldn’t argue anymore.

“We’ll all be much warmer,” Moonbin said when he saw Sanha shiver, “it’s only one night.” He wasn’t sure who he was reassuring more, Jinwoo or himself.

“Fine,” Jinwoo said, “you win.” He got up, holding Sanha carefully, and motioned for the younger man to lead the way down the hall.

Moonbin sighed in relief and turned down hallway.  Once Jinwoo and Sanha were asleep, he could always slip into the living room if need be.  “If I put my alarm on vibrate under the pillow will that wake you up?” he asked when he entered the bedroom.

“Probably, but I’m a light sleeper anyway,” Jinwoo said. He had been struggling to sleep since he started picking up night shifts, so he would likely be awake for a few more hours. “There’s no way you have work tomorrow though, not in this weather.”

Moonbin frowned slightly.  “No, but I don’t want to overstay my welcome more than I already have,” he said.  With a soft sigh, he decided to forgo his alarm and hope that he woke up at a decent hour.

Jinwoo rolled his eyes as he got into bed, setting Sanha down in the middle next to him. He waited for Moonbin to lay down as well before turning off the light.

Moonbin didn’t miss Jinwoo’s eye roll as he slowly climbed into the bed.  He settled on his back and hoped that he didn’t roll over during the night.

Jinwoo flicked off the lamp and settled on his side, wrapping a protective arm around Sanha. He was sure that Moonbin wouldn’t crush the boy, but he wanted to be safe just in case.

“Good night,” Moonbin murmured before finally closing his eyes.  He let out a soft sigh as his mind ran a mile a minute. He was sharing a bed with Jinwoo, a man he was barely even friends with, trapped by a snowstorm, and had no way of getting home tomorrow if the buses weren’t running.  Maybe not having to go to Busan this weekend was a good thing.

Once Jinwoo finally fell asleep, he slept better than he had in weeks. So much so that he didn’t even hear Sanha wake up and move closer to Moonbin. So much so, in fact, that he never heard the knock on the door early the next morning.

Moonbin blinked his eyes open when he heard a knock on the door.  He was about to get up when he realized something was pressing into his side.  A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips when he looked down and found a soundly sleeping Sanha tucked next to him.  He didn’t want to wake the toddler, but he knew the door had to be answered. Slowly, he slipped from the bed, grateful that Sanha didn’t wake up.  Moonbin brushed his fingers through his hair, trying to tame it, as he walked through the apartment to the front door. He pulled the door open to reveal someone he had never seen before standing behind it.

“Does Park Jinwoo live here?” The woman on the other side of the door was official looking in a skirt suit and woolen coat. She carried a laptop bag over one shoulder and a cell phone in the other. There was a logo on the bag: Department of Corrections. The man with her was dressed almost identically, in a suit and overcoat, with a bag with the Department of Children and Families logo on it.

“Uh, yes he does,” Moonbin said nervously.  His eyes widened and he began to panic slightly as he took in the logos adorning the bags of the two people’s bags.  “I’ll get him for you,” he said quickly before disappearing back into the bedroom. “Jinwoo. Jinwoo!” he called, “there’s some people here to see you.”

Jinwoo woke with a start when Moonbin called his name. He blinked, disoriented, before finding his bearings. “People?” he asked dumbly, “it’s seven in the morning on a Saturday.”

“Their bags have the Department of Corrections and the DCF logos on them.  They look really official but I have no idea what they want,” Moonbin rambled.  He took a deep breath and stared at Jinwoo. He had not the slightest clue was was going on and he was growing more worried with every second that passed.

Jinwoo sat up abruptly. “Stay here with Sanha,” he said seriously. There was only one thing those two departments would want with him: something concerning his sister. Not Sanha’s mother, but his other, younger sister. Moonbin didn’t need to hear this.

Moonbin nodded quickly and made his way back to the bed to quiet the toddler, who had been jostled awake.  “Is everything okay?” he asked quietly. He knew it was none of his business, but judging by Jinwoo’s reaction he knew this had to be something important.

“Probably not, but we’ll see how I feel in an hour. Can you call Dongmin to come over, please?” Jinwoo said before leaving the room and approaching the officials peering around his living room. The three of them moved into the kitchen to talk.

If Moonbin was nervous before, he was almost panicking now.  He took a couple deep breaths to keep himself calm before calling Dongmin and briefly explaining what happened and telling him to come over.  Once he had hung up, he turned his attention to Sanha who was now whining for his uncle. “He’ll be right back, Sanha,” Moonbin said quietly. He leaned against the headboard and pulled the toddler onto his lap, whispering that everything was going to be okay, in the hopes that that would keep him calm.

To say Jinwoo was stressed would be an understatement. The information he’d just been given was life changing and his mind was racing a mile a minute trying to comprehend it. He knew his sister wasn’t the brightest - she was in prison, after all - but this was a whole new level.

The longer Jinwoo was gone, the more worried Moonbin grew.  As much as he wanted to storm into the living room to make sure everything was actually okay, he knew it wasn’t he place so he stayed put, hoping Dongmin would be there soon.  Sanha had quickly picked up that something was wrong and began to sniffle. “Hey, hey, hey,” Moonbin said quickly, “it’s okay Sanha. Everything’s going to be okay. Your uncle will be back in no time.”   He continued to whisper to the toddler, hoping he didn’t get any more worked up; Moonbin had no idea what he would do if Sanha started crying.

“I’ll let you know when I have everything settled,” Jinwoo said as he showed the two officials out. Dongmin entered the apartment just as they were leaving and Jinwoo couldn’t be more grateful. It was too early for the bullshit he now had to deal with, especially with Moonbin still there. As soon as they were alone in the living room, Jinwoo collapsed into his best friend’s arms.

Moonbin nearly jumped when he heard the front door close.  He carefully climbed out of bed, hoisting Sanha into his arms, and made his way into the living room.  “Oh my God, what happened?” he asked worriedly when he saw Jinwoo wrapped in Dongmin’s arms.

“My sister happened,” Jinwoo grumbled as he pulled away from Dongmin, “Dongmin, how am I gonna find the money for this? Or the time? I barely managed with Sanha; what the hell am I gonna do with another baby?”

Moonbin opened his mouth, but quickly closed it, unconsciously clutching Sanha a little closer to him.  He could easily afford to help Jinwoo out monetarily until everything was straightened out, but he knew that Jinwoo would never accept.  Chewing his lip, he stood there watching Jinwoo as he collected his thoughts. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked slowly.

“My idiot sister thought it was a good idea to get pregnant while she’s serving a life sentence in prison and now I’m going to have a literal infant on my hands, on top of Sanha, so no, Bin, there’s really nothing that’ll help right now.” Jinwoo paused then shook his head. “I can’t deal with this right now. I’m going back to bed.” He lifted Sanha from Moonbin’s arms and disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Moonbin and Dongmin alone.

Moonbin watched Jinwoo and Sanha disappear into the bedroom and let out a shaky breath.  It suddenly dawned on him that he was still in Dongmin’s clothes and he shifted nervously on his feet.  “I know this is really none of my business, but how long until the baby comes here?” he asked slowly. He wasn’t quite sure how much Dongmin had been told, but he couldn’t help but ask.

“He didn’t say anything to me, but I think he convinced DCF to keep the poor kid until Jinwoo has a plan in place to be able to support...it.” Dongmin felt bad referring to the baby like that, but he knew just as much as Moonbin; that was, nothing.

Moonbin sighed, he felt powerless.  Granted last time he tried to help Jinwoo, everything went horribly wrong so maybe it was better if he stayed out of this.  “DCF really can’t force the baby on Jinwoo if he can’t afford it, right?” he asked. Yes, the baby was technically family, but it wasn’t fair to add another burden to Jinwoo’s already hectic life.

“No, but he’ll take the baby even if he can’t afford it,” Dongmin said with a sigh, “getting split up in the foster system is the exact reason why Jinwoo and his sister have all the problems they do. He wouldn’t let that happen to Sanha or the new baby no matter what.”

“Jinwoo was in the foster system?” he asked incredulously.  “I’m sorry,” he quickly added with a shake of his head. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised he didn’t know.  Jinwoo and he were barely friends so of course Moonbin would never have known.

“Yeah, that’s why he barely graduated high school and couldn’t go to college,” Dongmin said, dropping his voice, “he was only in for two years, his sister was in for three and she had it a lot worse. Once they place the kids, they don’t bother to check in on them, so a lot of them end up in similar situations that DCF took them out of.”

“Oh wow,” Moonbin mumbled, “that’s horrible.”  He felt almost guilty for knowing now. This was obviously a very private part of Jinwoo’s life and Moonbin had no idea how he would feel now that Moonbin knew.

“He doesn’t mind people knowing,” Dongmin explained quickly, “he just doesn’t like to talk about it.” Dongmin got the sense that Jinwoo trusted Moonbin and wouldn’t care if he knew. After all, he let the man stay alone with Sanha and that was a big step.

Moonbin let out a soft sigh and nodded slowly.  “I wish there was something I could do,” he whispered.  Moonbin knew it wasn’t his place to get involved, but he couldn’t help wanting to do something to lighten Jinwoo’s load.  What that something was however, was beyond Moonbin.

“Jinwoo hyung loves to cook,” Dongmin confessed, “and he’s really good at it too, but he can’t afford a culinary program and any restaurants that will take him without the training are too far out of the city. My schedule is open enough to help him with childcare, and I can always take them to work with me, but Jinwoo needs to find a new job. Something that pays more and isn’t exclusively night shifts.” He hoped Moonbin would be able to help him that way.

Moonbin nodded, “That’s good to know, thank you.   I’ll keep an eye out and see what I can do for him.”   He could easily afford to enroll Jinwoo in culinary school, but he knew the elder would refuse.  Unless maybe he surprised Jinwoo with it? It was risky and Moonbin wasn’t sure it was worth it yet.  For now, he would keep an eye out for jobs and hopefully a daytime position with better wages popped up soon.

“Thank you,” Dongmin said, “I’m gonna go check on him and I’m sure you must be wanting to get home.”

“Yeah, I’ve long overstayed my welcome,” Moonbin said, “Will you let him know I left and thank him again for me?”  He was glad he left his clothes in the bathroom so he could quickly get changed before he caught a bus to the garage.

“Of course,” Dongmin said, “thank you so much for helping with Sanha this morning.” As Moonbin disappeared to get changed, Dongmin carefully let himself into Jinwoo’s darkened bedroom.

“It wasn’t a problem at all,” Moonbin said as he made his way into the bathroom.  He folded the borrowed clothes and left them on the vanity. Deciding to send Jinwoo a text later, he bundled up as quickly as he could and made his way to the bus stop.  A quick phone call ensured the garage was open and that he was able to pick up his car. Sighing in relief, Moonbin boarded the bus and sat down against the window.

Dongmin sat with Jinwoo and Sanha for a long time, formulating a rational plan for how to deal with the new baby. He was only a few weeks old and would need a lot more attention than Sanha had when he’d first come to live with Jinwoo. By early afternoon, they had something of a plan worked out.

Moonbin had never been more grateful to have his car back than he was right now.  Unfortunately the roads weren’t very well plowed so the usual ten minute drive was now pushing thirty minutes.

Jinwoo, Sanha, and Dongmin were taking a trip. The baby had been born prematurely and was still hospitalized, but Jinwoo wanted to see him as soon as he could, so they were all making the trip over to visit the NICU. It was scary to think that their little family was growing again, but it wasn’t a choice Jinwoo was even going to consider. He would raise that baby, no matter what.

The first thing Moonbin did when he walked into his apartment was text Jinwoo thanking him profusely and telling the elder to text him if he needed absolutely anything.   Putting his phone down, Moonbin hung up his jacket and accessories and went to take a much needed hot shower.

Ong Seongwoo. That was the name Jinwoo’s sister had given the baby. He was absolutely adorable, so small even in Jinwoo’s hands. Jinwoo held Sanha on his lap and helped the boy cradle the baby, letting him get to know the boy that would basically become his brother. It was surreal.

Moonbin wasn’t surprised that he didn’t have a text waiting from Jinwoo.  He couldn’t imagine how overwhelmed he must be and knowing that Dongmin was with him made Moonbin feel better.  Unfortunately his kitchen was pretty bare because he usually went grocery shopping on Saturdays, but there was no way he was going back out in the snow.  He scrounged around for a snack before plopping himself down on his couch and flicking on the tv.

Jinwoo’s next step was to contact his manager and get his schedule switched back to days. He and Dongmin had talked about looking for somewhere else, but he knew he wouldn’t find anything immediate. After that, he finally responded to Moonbin, telling him he was welcome over anytime.

Moonbin smiled softly when he saw Jinwoo’s text.  “Thank you very much. I really do appreciate it,” he sent back.  Leaving the tv on as background noise, Moonbin grabbed his laptop from the coffee table.  He had not the slightest idea of what to look for in a culinary program but he wanted to do some research to get some ideas anyway.

Jinwoo not only got switched back to days but to daytime manager. That meant he would be making twice as much and could set his own schedule as needed. It would be much easier to take care of Sanha and Seongwoo.

Even though Moonbin was originally looking forward to the transfer, he was grateful it didn’t work out.  With everything happening with Jinwoo, he would much rather be local to help if needed.

Jinwoo called the man from DCF and told him he would be able to take Seongwoo in a week. In that time, he sold his and Sanha’s bed in order to get a smaller bed and a crib. Dongmin helped him stock up on baby supplies and by the time that Seongwoo was released from the hospital, Jinwoo was ready for him.

Moonbin was grateful that the office was almost completely quiet throughout the next week.  Even his boss had let up on him and he could almost forget the whole misunderstanding with Jinwoo happened.  One day he did have to stay late, which wasn’t atypical considering they just added new shipments that were arriving in the evening.  He hadn’t heard much from Jinwoo in the past week and he sent him a quick text asking how everything was going.

Jinwoo was surprised when Moonbin texted him, but he was glad nonetheless. “It’s going well,” he texted back, “we’re bringing the baby home tonight.”

Moonbin hadn’t realized the baby was coming home so soon, but he was glad everything seemed to be going well.  “Do you need anything? I’m working late tonight so I can swing by after with some dinner if you would like.” he sent back.

“That would actually be fantastic,” Jinwoo replied quickly, “Myungjun’s here too; he stopped by to drop off some of Minhyuk’s old baby stuff.”

“What’s around here that you guys like?  I should be out of here within the next fifteen or twenty minutes,” he clicked send and made his way down to the loading bay.  The driver was due in the next five minutes and Moonbin had never hoped someone was on time more in his life.

“There’s a good Chinese place on the next block over from us,” Jinwoo texted back, “don’t rush yourself; we’re still fistfighting the crib.”

“Alright, I’ll be over as soon as I can.  Good luck with the crib and be careful,” Moonbin replied with a small chuckle.  He called in an order to the Chinese place Jinwoo recommended and no sooner did he hang up was the driver pulling up.   Once the truck was parked Moonbin went through the required company spiel and inspected the contents of the shipment to ensure everything was there.  Unfortunately, Moonbin had to wait until the truck was fully unloaded and he practically sprinted out of the building the minute he could. Within the next twenty he was letting himself into Jinwoo’s apartment, dinner in tow.  “Jinwoo!” he called as he walked in.

“In the bedroom!” Jinwoo called back. He and Myungjun were just finally managing to wrangle the crib into a corner, while Dongmin was cleaning up the packaging. Seongwoo was asleep in his carrier, with Sanha passed out on the bed next to him.

Moonbin toed off his shoes and placed the bags of food on the kitchen table before making his way down the hallway.  “Hello all,” he greeted when he walked into the bedroom. It was excellent timing as it looked like they were just finishing setting up the crib.  His eyes roamed the bedroom until they landed on the baby in the carrier; Moonbin had never seen anything, let alone a baby, so small.

“Hey, Bin,” Jinwoo greeted as he dusted off his hands. He gently shook Sanha awake before lifting Seongwoo out of his carrier. The toddler woke up slowly, but perked up when he saw Moonbin.

“Hello, sleepyhead,” Moonbin said quietly to Sanha when the toddler woke up.  He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face when he realized that Sanha recognized him.  “Dinner is on the table,” he added when he turned his attention back to the rest of the men in the room.

Dongmin picked Sanha up as Jinwoo motioned for everyone to go out into the kitchen. Once everyone was gathered around the table and eating, Sanha in a booster seat and Seongwoo in a recently purchased high chair, still asleep, he finally had the chance to thank Moonbin for getting dinner.

“It’s not a problem at all, it was right on the way,” Moonbin said quickly.  As he ate, Moonbin kept finding his eyes sneaking to the sleeping baby. “What’s his name?” he asked quietly.

“Seongwoo,” Jinwoo said. He was absolutely smitten with his new nephew already. Seongwoo was just so tiny and perfect. It was hard to believe something so little could exist.

“Oh that’s adorable,” Moonbin said.  Dinner was relatively quiet as everyone ate their food.  Between a little small talk and some chuckles at how Sanha managed to get himself covered in food, dinner flew by.  Moonbin offered to stay and help clean up and after bidding goodbye to Myungjun and Dongmin, found himself at the sink washing the dishes.

“Thanks for helping out, Bin,” Jinwoo said as he paced the kitchen, feeding Seongwoo a bottle of formula. It meant a lot to him that the younger was willing to do so much, despite their earlier issues.

“Of course,” Moonbin said with a small smile.  He had to admit he had grown quite fond of the nickname, especially coming from Jinwoo.  “Does Sanha need a bath?” he asked as he placed the last dried plate back into the cabinet.

“Probably,” Jinwoo said. He set the empty bottle on the counter and moved Seongwoo to his shoulder, burping the baby gently. “I can do it after I get Seongwoo to sleep.”

“If you’re okay with it, I don’t mind giving Sanha a bath,” Moonbin said, “everything else is already cleaned up.”   He was growing quite fond of Sanha and would do almost anything if it meant getting to spend more time with the toddler.  Plus it gave Jinwoo the opportunity to focus on Seongwoo and have one less thing to worry about.

“If you’re sure it’s okay, that would really help me a lot,” Jinwoo acquiesced. The sooner he could get Sanha to bed, the sooner he could get to bed himself. As much as he loved his boys, they were both exhausting.

“Consider it done,” Moonbin said chipperly.  Turning back towards the booster seat he lifted Sanha from the chair and carried him into the bathroom.  “Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said, filling the tub with lukewarm water. After it was full, he lowered Sanha into the water and quickly learned the boy was much more interested in playing than in getting clean.  With a small chuckle, Moonbin rolled up his sleeves and tried to figure out a way to quiet the boy long enough to properly wash him off.

Once Seongwoo was fed and burped, Jinwoo changed his diaper, put him in a onesie, and set him in the crib to sleep. With a tired sigh, he turned on the baby monitor and laid himself on the couch.

Moonbin giggled along with Sanha as he splashed around in the tub.  After a little while longer of playing, Moonbin finally got Sanha properly cleaned up.  He then drained the water from the tub and wrapped Sanha in a towel. Once the toddler was dried off, Moonbin dressed him in his pajamas and carried him out to the living room.  “All cleaned,” he said proudly when they approached the couch.

“Oh, wonderful,” Jinwoo said, sitting up, “he can go straight to bed, honestly. The baby monitor’s on; he’ll be fine.” He would do it himself, but he was honestly exhausted and he knew Sanha would go down fine for Moonbin.

“I’ll be right back,” Moonbin said and he took Sanha back down the hallway into the bedroom.  He laid him down in the middle of the new bed, he didn’t miss that it was smaller than the old one, and was grateful that the toddler settled right down.  Sanha was tucked in and asleep within the next twenty minutes and Moonbin gently closed the door behind him. “He’s asleep,” he said quietly when he made his way back out into the living room.

“Thank you,” Jinwoo said quietly, patting the space next to him for Moonbin to sit. The younger man had been a tremendous help, ever since they’d resolved their argument, and Jinwoo knew he’d be struggling a lot more if he didn’t have him.

Moonbin dropped into the spot next to Jinwoo, keeping nervous eyes on him.  This past week must have been incredibly stressful and exhausting for Jinwoo and it was written all over his face.  “Do _you_ need anything?” he asked quietly.  Moonbin had quickly learned that Jinwoo never asked for anything for himself so he was never too sure if the elder was actually okay or not.

“Honestly, I just need a nap,” Jinwoo said quietly. Of course, there were other things, but Moonbin couldn’t give him those. Jinwoo was incredibly touch deprived, but they weren’t nearly close enough for him to ask Moonbin for help with that.

Moonbin hummed in understanding.  “I’ll get going then so you can rest,” he said as he stood up, “try not to fall asleep out here; it’s not nearly as comfortable.”

“Actually, can you stay a little longer?” Jinwoo asked as his eyes closed, “I need just a half an hour without a sweaty toddler clinging to me but I don’t like to fall asleep if I’m not in the room with them.” He knew Moonbin probably had work the next day, but he really just needed a minute to himself without the kids.

“Absolutely, get some rest and I’ll stay until you wake up,” Moonbin said with a soft smile.  He grabbed the baby monitor and wandered into the kitchen, he lowered the volume hoping that it wouldn’t wake Jinwoo if one of the babies cried, and slipped into a chair.

Jinwoo smiled gratefully and toppled to the side. He curled up on the couch, wrapping his arms around himself, and fell asleep almost immediately.

Moonbin was only in the kitchen for around twenty minutes when he heard sniffles coming from the monitor.  He quickly stood up and made his way to the bedroom to find Sanha sitting up in the middle of the bed with a couple of tears rolling down his cheeks.  “Oh, Sanha, everything’s okay,” he said quietly. He picked the toddler up and laid him over his shoulder as he slowly paced across the room. He bounced slightly as he walked, hoping to lull the toddler back to sleep.  “Uncle Jinwoo will be back soon. Go back to sleep, Sanha; I’m right here,” he whispered.

Jinwoo slept straight through an hour before he suddenly jerked awake. Everything was exactly as it had been before he fell asleep, except Moonbin and the baby monitor were missing. Groggily, he got up and started looking for them.

Moonbin stifled a yawn as he continued walking around the room.  The occasional whimper told him Sanha was not yet asleep so he decided to lay down with the toddler.   Placing Sanha in the middle of the bed, Moonbin crawled in after him and laid on his side. He gently wrapped an arm around Sanha to pull the toddler against him and smiled when he snuggled against his chest.  After wiping the last few tears from Sanha’s cheeks, Moonbin felt his eyes begin to grow heavy, but forced himself to keep them open. Once he was sure the toddler had fallen back asleep, he slowly let his own eyes close.

Jinwoo’s heart clenched when he tiptoed into the bedroom and found Moonbin fast asleep with Sanha on his chest. Carefully, he shook the younger man awake.

Moonbin nearly jumped when someone shook his shoulder.  He blinked his eyes open to reveal Jinwoo standing above him and sat up as he quickly as he could without disturbing Sanha.  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled quickly, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He felt so embarrassed; he was supposed to be keeping an eye on Sanha and Seongwoo and instead had fallen asleep in Jinwoo’s bed.

“No, it’s okay,” Jinwoo whispered, “I just figured you would want to change and get comfortable. I don’t feel good about you driving when you’re this tired.” In truth, he knew Moonbin would be fine, but he simply didn’t want the younger to go.

Moonbin’s eyes widened as his tired mind finally registered what Jinwoo said.  “I’ll be fine,” he argued lamely, “I don’t want to impose on you again.” The drive across the city wasn’t long at all, and Moonbin knew he could make it home no problem, but for some reason, he didn’t really want to leave.

“I would feel horrible if anything happened to you,” Jinwoo said quietly, “please just stay the night.” He knew he was being selfish, but he didn’t want Moonbin to go.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?  I do have to set an alarm for work tomorrow,” Moonbin said.  He had already made his decision to stay, but he wanted to make sure he wouldn’t bother Jinwoo or the babies when he left for work.

“Yes,” Jinwoo said, with a tone of finality, “I’m positive. And please don’t fight with me about the couch; you’re sleeping in here. If you want to change, I’ll take Sanha.”

“Thank you,” Moonbin said appreciatively as he passed Sanha over.  “Don’t worry,” he added with a small chuckle, “I’m much too tired to argue with you.”  He went across the hall to quickly wash up and get changed.

Jinwoo took Sanha and laid the boy over his shoulder. He took a moment to check on Seongwoo and let Moonbin get out of bed before he laid down, settling the sleeping toddler close to his side.

Moonbin yawned as he made his way back across the hallway.  It wasn’t until he rounded the bed that he realized how much smaller it actually was.  When he climbed in he was almost pressed against Sanha and laid on his side as close to the edge as he could to give the toddler enough space.

Jinwoo fell asleep pretty much as soon as he laid down. He didn’t even notice Moonbin coming back in and laying down. With a soft sigh, he pulled Sanha closer.

Moonbin laid there watching Jinwoo and Sanha for a few minutes.  The toddler was happily tucked into his uncle’s side and Jinwoo had one arm protectively wrapped around him.  With a soft sigh, Moonbin double checked that his alarm was set and settled down to finally fall asleep. It felt like merely seconds had passed by when Moonbin’s alarm was vibrating under the pillow.  He quickly shut it off before dragging himself from the warm bed. He tiptoed out of the room so he could get changed.

Jinwoo groaned his way awake when he felt Moonbin’s alarm go off. He detached himself from Sanha and made his way out to the kitchen. The least he could do was make Moonbin some coffee.

Moonbin wasn’t surprised to see Jinwoo in the kitchen as he walked through the apartment.  “I’m really sorry to wake you,” he said quietly. His voice was still rough with sleep and he promptly cleared his throat.  

“No, I’m usually up early,” Jinwoo said, “Seongwoo will be up soon to eat anyway.” He placed a cup of coffee on the counter for Moonbin.

Moonbin nodded and grabbed the cup from the counter.  “Thank you for making coffee,” he said as he took a small sip.  Humming contently he leaned against the counter and wrapped his hands around the warm mug.

“Of course,” Jinwoo said as he poured a mug for himself. He didn’t used to be a big coffee drinker, but he’d basically become addicted since adopting Sanha. Babies were tiring.

Moonbin sipped his coffee contently, finishing it just before he had to go.  “Do you want me to wash this before I leave?” he asked politely. He still had a few minutes and was looking for any excuse to stay.

“No, I’ll handle it,” Jinwoo said with a yawn. “Thanks for helping out last night,” he added as he finished his own coffee.

“Oh it’s no problem.  Sanha’s very well behaved and I enjoy spending time with him,” Moonbin admitted.  The toddler had effectively wrapped himself around Moonbin’s finger and he was not the least bit upset it with.  

“Good, I’m glad.” Jinwoo places both mugs in the sink and groaned as he twisted to crack his back. The new bed was harder than the old one and he had been waking up sore all over.

Glancing down at his watch, Moonbin realized his few minutes had run out and he couldn’t afford to be late to work.  “Thank you for letting me stay, but I have to get going,” he said regretfully, “let me know if you need anything.”

“Of course,” Jinwoo said, “Are you stopping by for dinner tonight?” He was planning on making lasagna and inviting everyone over again. It was his subtle way of taking a break from the boys.

“I would love to,” Moonbin said happily.  He felt bad that he was constantly over Jinwoo’s, but getting both babies across the city to his apartment would probably be more trouble than it was worth.  “Do you need me to bring anything?”

“Just yourself,” Jinwoo said with a smile, “although, Myungjun said he may get stuck at the factory for a few hours and I don’t have a car to pick up Minhyuk.”

“I can pick him up,” Moonbin offered, “where do I need to go?”  He stepped into his shoes and began the long process of bundling up.

“I’m not sure exactly, I’ll ask Myungjun and let you know,” Jinwoo said gratefully. Unlike the community center Sanha went to, Minhyuk’s daycare wasn’t open through the night, so someone needed to pick the boy up when Myungjun wasn’t available. Since his mother was out of town, that responsibility rested on Jinwoo. Poor, carless Jinwoo.

“Perfect!  I’ll pick him up after work and then be right over,” Moonbin said.  “I’ll see you later, Jinwoo,” he said as he finally forced himself out the door and to the office.

“Thanks, Bin,” Jinwoo called after him, already sending a text to Myungjun. He knew the elder would have to let the daycare know Moonbin was coming. Once that was set, he started making a bottle for Seongwoo.

Work was long as it is, but now that Moonbin had something to look forward to the day felt like it was barely crawling by.  Luckily his boss left him alone for the day and everything was smooth sailing. Moonbin glanced at the clock and groaned when he realized it was only one.  Just a few more hours, he told himself as he turned back to his computer.

Jinwoo has sent along the address of the daycare once Myungjun had shared it with him. He spent the rest of his day off taking care of Sanha and Seongwoo before he started on the lasagna.

Moonbin spent the rest of his afternoon staring at the clock and the moment it hit five he practically leapt out of his chair.  He checked the address Jinwoo sent him, picked up Minhyuk, who was surprisingly easy going, and made his way to Jinwoo’s apartment.  Scooping Minhyuk into his arms, he carried the toddler into the apartment. He knocked lightly on the door before stepping in. “It’s me,” he called as he stepped out of his shoes.  He set Minhyuk down and began unbundling the toddler.

“Hello, hello,” Jinwoo called as he made his way over, “hi, Minhyukkie.” The boy wiggled until Moonbin set him down then ran off to find Sanha. “Dinner’s still in the oven.”

Moonbin chuckled when Minhyuk tore off across the apartment.  “Yeah, I’m a bit earlier than I expected, but I figured the boys wouldn’t mind a little extra time to play,” he said.

“That’s fine. I tried to time it to make sure it’ll still be warm when Jun gets here,” Jinwoo explained.

“Oh that’s perfect,” Moonbin said.  He loosened his tie and ran his hand through his hair, wincing internally when he realized how greasy it was getting; he definitely needed a shower when he got home.  “The boys seem to get along really well,” he commented when he heard laughing coming from the bedroom.

If Jinwoo had been drinking something, he would have choked. Moonbin looked so fucking _good_ . He didn’t like this. Oh, he didn’t like this at _all_.

Moonbin cleared his throat and piled Minhyuk’s hat, gloves, and jacket next to his own.  “How’s Sanha adjusting to having Seongwoo around?” he asked conversationally.

“Oh, god, he loves him,” Jinwoo said happily, “he’d carry poor Seongwoo around all day if he could. I mean, he has his jealous moments, but it’s been good so far.”

Moonbin chuckled at the thought of tiny Sanha toting an even tinier Seongwoo around the apartment.  “That’s great to hear,” he said, straightening up with a sigh, “I can already hear the yelling when they get a little bit older.”  He froze as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Sure Jinwoo and he were getting along well lately, but that didn’t necessarily mean they would stay friends.

“Oh, for sure,” Jinwoo said with a laugh, “Seongwoo’s pretty quiet, but between Sanha’s influence and his mother’s genes, I’m sure he’ll be quite the troublemaker when he gets older.”

“You’re certainly gonna have your hands full,” Moonbin said.  He couldn’t even begin to imagine the trouble the two boys could get up to but they were too cute for that right now.    “Add Minhyuk to the mix and that’s quite the crew.”

“He’s actually a pretty quiet kid,” Jinwoo said, “and he’s a year older than Sanha so at least their teachers won’t have to deal with them together, if they even end up at the same school.” Jinwoo knew he likely wouldn’t be able to afford as good of a school as Myungjun could, but he also knew that Myungjun would likely pay under his means to keep the boys together.

“That would be cute if they ended up at the same school,” Moonbin commented.  He took a moment to let his eyes roam over Jinwoo’s face. Despite how the tiredness that defined his features, the shorter man still managed to look...cute.  No, Moonbin thought with a shake of his head, that wasn’t right.

“We’ll see in a few years,” Jinwoo said evasively. It was his own fault for bringing it up, but he didn’t like to talk about his income disparity. It was so...bothersome. “Dinner should be about ready if you want to get the boys to wash their hands?”

“I’ll do my best,” Moonbin said before making his way into the bedroom.  After a bit of wrestling and a lot of coaxing, Moonbin finally convinced Minhyuk and Sanha to wash their hands.  After putting Minhyuk down, he picked up Sanha, who held his arms up eagerly, and held him over the bathroom sink so he could was his hands.  Eventually he got both boys in the kitchen, but getting them to sit down was proving to be quite the challenge.

Jinwoo got the lasagna out of the oven and onto a potholder on the table before grabbing his menagerie of dishes and setting the table. None of the plates matched, but that was okay. He waited for Moonbin and the boys and smiled fondly when the younger man tried to wrangle the toddlers into their seats.

Moonbin sighed and crossed his arms, watching the two toddlers giggle at the new game.  He couldn’t stay serious for long and finally cracked a smile; the kids were just too cute.  Eventually he grew tired of chasing them around the kitchen, and easily scooped one toddler into each arm and plopped them into their chairs.

Jinwoo smiled as the boys finally sat and he started to dish out the food. The boys started eating right away, ravenous after all their playing. He made up a plate for Moonbin as well then picked up Seongwoo out of his carrier to feed him.

“I see what you mean when you say kids are exhausting,” Moonbin said lightly as he sat down.  He shot warning glances at the toddlers, almost daring them to move, but they were content to stay in their seats, for now.  Moonbin had never really thought about having kids, but the more time he spent with them, the more he wanted some of his own, but it simply wasn’t realistic.

Jinwoo hummed and nodded as he sat in his own chair with Seongwoo cradled in his arms. The baby was sucking happily on his bottle of formula. He had never really wanted kids, had never expected to be able to have them considering he wasn't attracted to women in the slightest, but he wouldn't give his nephews up for the world. They were his family and he owed it to them to make sure they grew up safe.

Moonbin ate his dinner slowly, savoring each bite.  He was surprised when his phone dinged that he had an email and pulled his phone out of his pocket to silence it, but stopped when he saw the subject.  Sliding open his phone, he quickly read the email, murmuring an “oh no” when he reached the end.

Jinwoo caught onto Moonbin's mumble and looked up. "What's wrong?" he asked. He hoped it wasn't something with Moonbin's family; he knew they didn't live close by.

“There was a fire in one of the apartments in my building,” he said slowly as he reread the email, “they are letting people in for a few minutes at a time to get stuff, but no one can go back for at least a week, maybe two.”  He tossed his phone onto the table with a dejected sigh, racking his brain for what he could do for the next couple of weeks.

"Oh my god, that's horrible," Jinwoo said, "do you have somewhere to go?" Immediately, all of his focus was on making sure Moonbin was going to be alright, especially considering how cold it had been lately.

“Not yet,” Moonbin replied, “but I’m going to talk to some of my coworkers and see if any of them have room.”  He wasn’t sure if any of his coworkers would be willing to offer him even a couch to sleep on, but he really didn’t have any other options.  As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t ask Jinwoo. It wouldn’t be fair considering everything he already had on his plate.

"Why don't you just stay here?" Jinwoo suggested, "I mean, you've been here most of the week already and it's closer to your office than your apartment is anyway."

“That’s not fair,” Moonbin said quickly, “a couple nights is one thing, but this is a whole week, maybe two.  I couldn’t ask that of you, Jinwoo.” He sighed again, he really didn’t want to put Jinwoo out like that, but he honestly wasn’t sure he had a choice.

"As long as you chip in a bit for groceries, it's not a problem at all," Jinwoo said with a smile. Internally, alarms were blaring because what the living actual _fuck_ was he doing? Not that he had anything against Moonbin staying with him. He just didn't know if his heart would survive it.

“Consider it done,” Moonbin said with a sigh, “you are a blessing, Park Jinwoo.”  Granted he had just found out his apartment would be inaccessible for the next week or so, but it felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders.

"You should go get your clothes and stuff while they're still letting people into the building," Jinwoo said gently, "Myungjun should be here soon. I'll keep your dinner warm."

“Thank you,” Moonbin said as he stood up, “I’ll be back soon.”   He bundled himself up again and braved the cold to get to his car.  Fifteen minutes later he was rummaging through his apartment, throwing as much as he could into a couple suitcases while a cop looked on from the doorway.  Once he had grabbed enough clothes and any food that could go bad in that time, he made his way back to his car for the short drive back to Jinwoo’s.

Jinwoo finished feeding Seongwoo and was burping him when Myungjun showed up. He explained to the eldest what had happened at Moonbin’s apartment building as he pulled the still-warm lasagna pan back out of the oven.

Another twenty minutes later,  Moonbin had rolled his suitcases into Jinwoo’s apartment and left them against the wall in the living room for the time being.  After unbundling again, he walked back into the kitchen and greeted Myungjun.

“Your food is in the oven,” Jinwoo called on his way out of the kitchen. He needed to get Seongwoo changed and asleep before he could eat anything himself.

“Thank you so much,” Moonbin said quietly, using a dish towel to grab the plate from the oven.  He dropped into the seat and continued to pick at the last bit of his piece of lasagna.

Jinwoo left the kitchen and disappeared into the bedroom. He got Seongwoo changed and dressed him in cute pajamas. He didn’t seem ready to sleep, so Jinwoo carried him back to the kitchen to sit in his high chair.

Moonbin looked up when he heard footsteps and froze when he saw Jinwoo walk in with Seongwoo in his arms.   The baby was wearing the cutest pajamas and looked so content to be in his uncle’s arms. “He really is absolutely adorable,” Moonbin whispered.

“He is, isn’t he?” Jinwoo said, looking down at the baby happily. Despite everything, both Sanha and Seongwoo were so joyful. It gave Jinwoo hope.

Moonbin hummed and he couldn’t help but smile when he saw Jinwoo’s fond expression.  He didn’t miss the way Myungjun was watching him, and quickly diverted his eyes, focusing on what was left on his plate instead.

Jinwoo passed the baby to Myungjun, who immediately began making silly faces at the boy. Finally, he served himself a slice of lasagna and sat down to eat.

Moonbin chuckled softly as he watched Myungjun play with Seongwoo.  He finished his piece of lasagna and stood up with a soft sigh. Slowly he walked over to the sink to wash his dish, occasionally sneaking looks back at Jinwoo and the baby.

Jinwoo ate quickly, not wanting to be unavailable for too long. Once he was done, he took his plate to the sink, made sure Sanha and Minhyuk were all cleaned up, and released the boys to play.

Moonbin laughed as the boys made their way back to the bedroom as quickly as they could.  You would almost think the boys had been held hostage with how fast they booked it out of the kitchen.   Moonbin finished washing the plates and put them all away before turning back around. He leaned against the counter and slowly rolled his sleeves down.

"So how bad was your apartment?" Jinwoo asked as he washed his hands in the sink Moonbin had abandoned. He hoped the younger hadn't lost too many possessions.

“Not bad, thank God. It was actually an apartment a couple floors up that the fire started in and it didn’t make it down to my floor,” Moonbin explained, “there’s some water damage in the ceiling, but all of my stuff is fine.”   He considered himself extremely lucky; the firemen on scene had explained that had they responded a few minutes later the fire would have spread to his floor, effectively ruining his apartment.

"Oh, that's good," Jinwoo said, relieved, "how long do they think it'll take to fix it?" Not that he wanted to shove Moonbin out the door, but he certainly needed to plan for an extra person.

“They told me a week and a half to two weeks,” Moonbin replied, “I just hope they can actually stick to that time frame.”   He was incredibly grateful to Jinwoo for letting him stay, but he didn’t want this to turn into something too long term. “If that’s too long, I can find somewhere else to stay,” he added quickly.

"No, it's perfectly fine," Jinwoo said quickly, "I'm just trying to figure out the best arrangement so that you can sleep comfortably without the baby waking you up all the time." Jinwoo had gotten approved for a short paternity leave, on account of him being a single parent and Seongwoo being premature, so he wasn't worried about his own sleeping time, but Moonbin would still have to get to work in the mornings.

“Please don’t drive yourself crazy.  The baby won’t bother me,” Moonbin assured, “and the couch is fine as well.”  He knew Jinwoo didn’t like the idea of him sleeping on the couch, Moonbin didn’t mind at all; he was just grateful Jinwoo had offered him a place to sleep at all.

“You say that now,” Jinwoo said, to both parts of Moonbin’s sentence. The younger had no idea just how horrendous babies or bad furniture could be.

“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Moonbin said, “I’m not in a position to complain anyway.”  He didn’t miss the hint of warning in Jinwoo’s voice, but he wasn’t worried.

Despite Jinwoo’s warnings, he and Moonbin continued to share a bed and the younger man didn’t complain once whenever Seongwoo cried. He was really the perfect roommate. They usually both went to bed early, but when Saturday came a few days later, Jinwoo found himself putting the boys to bed and returning to where Moonbin was on the couch.

“Did they go down easy?” Moonbin asked when Jinwoo entered the room.  Sitting up, he moved over so that Jinwoo had enough room on the other end of the couch to sit down.  He had just gotten out of the shower and decided to treat himself to a late night up, considering he didn’t have work in the morning.  

“Sanha was a little clingy, but that’s okay,” Jinwoo said as he flopped onto the couch. He was tired, but not quite tired enough for bed, especially if Moonbin wanted to stay up. Knowing the younger, he would find an excuse to sleep on the couch, which Jinwoo was still vehemently against.

Moonbin hummed.  “Maybe we can do a movie night and let Sanha stay up a little later than usual,” he suggested.  He knew Jinwoo had set bedtimes for the boys and he didn’t want to step on any toes, but he couldn’t help but think that could be fun for all of them.

“Not tonight,” Jinwoo said, “but maybe tomorrow. He’s already well asleep.” As clingy as Sanha was, he usually fell asleep easily as soon as he was in bed. With a yawn, Jinwoo pulled his knees up to his chin and used them as a pillow.

“Oh of course.  That would be fun,” Moonbin said quickly.  “Why don’t you lay down so you’re more comfortable?” he added as he shifted to give Jinwoo more room on the couch, “you’re going to cramp up if you stay folded up like that for too long.

“This couch is so small I’d have to lay on you,” Jinwoo mumbled, letting his eyes close. Maybe he was more tired than he realized. Still, he was stubborn and wasn’t going to go to bed until Moonbin did.

“If that means you’re more comfortable then I am not opposed,” Moonbin said softly.  He wasn’t quite ready for bed but he knew Jinwoo wouldn’t let him stay up alone so he at least wanted to ensure the elder would be comfortable, especially considering how tired he was.  

Jinwoo yawned and shook his head, forcing his eyes open. The point was to stay awake, not to let Moonbin trick him into falling asleep. Even if falling asleep sounded so nice…

“Just lay down please,” Moonbin said with a huff, “we both know you’re exhausted.  You can rest for a little while out here and then we’ll both go to bed. Deal?” He watched Jinwoo curiously, hoping he would actually lay down.  The boys have been giving him a run for his money lately and Moonbin wanted to ensure he got some time to himself to just relax.

Jinwoo didn’t argue, but he didn’t quite give in either. Instead of laying down on Moonbin’s lap, he shifted his weight and laid his head on the younger’s shoulder.

Moonbin sighed quietly when Jinwoo laid his head on his shoulder.  This wasn’t quite what he had in mind, but it was better than nothing.  He sat deeper in the couch so that Jinwoo wasn’t craning his neck. “Get some rest,” he murmured, “I’ll wake you up in a little bit.”

“You’d better,” Jinwoo mumbled. He meant to sound threatening but he knew it wasn’t effective whatsoever.

Moonbin chuckled; Jinwoo was adorable as it is and that was just amplified by how tired he was.  “And what will you do if I don’t?” he teased lightly. He couldn’t imagine Jinwoo would be up for much, but it was still fun to tease the elder a little.

Jinwoo picked his head up and squinted at Moonbin. He couldn’t think of a good comeback so he just pouted instead.

Moonbin smiled down at Jinwoo; now that he thought about it, adorable didn’t even begin to cut it.  He let his eyes wander around the elder’s face and they eventually came to rest on his lips. Moonbin’s breath hitched in his throat and he found himself slowly leaning closer to Jinwoo.  After pausing for a moment to ensure Jinwoo wasn’t going to pull away, he gently pressed their lips together.

Jinwoo was surprised when he suddenly felt Moonbin’s lips against his own. “Oh,” he uttered when they separated. He sat up and looked at Moonbin carefully for a moment before carefully pressing their lips together again.

Moonbin sighed when Jinwoo kissed him back.  It wasn’t until this moment that he realized just how long he had been waiting to do this.  Slowly, he raised a hand to cup Jinwoo’s cheek.

Jinwoo subconsciously pressed himself closer to Moonbin, letting the kiss deepen on its own. This was...incredible.

Moonbin hummed against Jinwoo’s lips when he pressed closer.  He let his hand slide from Jinwoo’s cheek to rest on his thigh instead.  

“Holy shit,” Jinwoo whispered as he pulled back. That was...not supposed to happen. What was he thinking, kissing Moonbin like that? Now the younger was gonna think he was a creep or something.

Moonbin watched Jinwoo carefully, panting slightly.  “Does that count as waking you up?” he asked.

“I’m so sorry, Moonbin,” Jinwoo said, gathering himself and getting up, planning to retreat to the bedroom.

“Jinwoo, wait,” Moonbin said quickly.  He grabbed Jinwoo’s hand quickly and pulled him back to the couch so he could sit down again.  “Why are you apologizing?” he asked quietly. He kept his voice even, but he couldn’t help feeling worried; he didn’t ruin this before it even started, did he?

“I just...kissed you,” Jinwoo said, a little confused, “that’s not...we don’t work like that. And I don’t...I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“Make me feel uncomfortable?” Moonbin asked quietly, “Jinwoo, I...I _wanted_ to kiss you.”  His voice was barely above a whisper and his heart was beating out of his chest. He had Jinwoo’s hand clutched in his own, too scared to let go in case he tried to leave again.

"You did?" Jinwoo asked dumbly. He had no idea why Moonbin would want to do that. He came with a lot baggage.

Moonbin nodded quickly.  “I did. To be honest I’ve wanted to for a little while, I just didn’t have an opportunity until now,” he admitted softly.   He loosened his grip on Jinwoo’s hand; it wouldn’t be fair to force him to stay if he didn’t want to. Moonbin dropped his eyes to his lap, too nervous to even look at Jinwoo.

"Oh," Jinwoo said in a small voice. Moonbin wanted to kiss him. Was that all that he wanted? Jinwoo didn't know. He wasn't going to ask Moonbin to take on all of the burdens that came with dating; just kissing was good enough.

“We don’t have to be anything more if you don’t want,” Moonbin said softly, “but I’m willing to try.”   He finally, _finally_ , lifted his eyes from his lap to meet Jinwoo’s.  Moonbin chewed his lip nervously; he had no idea what Jinwoo wanted, or how he’d react, and all he could do was wait.

"You don't want that," Jinwoo said sadly, "I have so much shit, Bin, you don't wanna get involved with that. That isn't fair to you."

“I’m willing to try,” Moonbin reiterated, “we’re practically living together, Jinwoo.  Sanha’s comfortable with me and I’m sure Seongwoo would be too. I don’t want to force you into anything you’re uncomfortable with, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”  He took a deep breath and shifted himself so he was facing Jinwoo.

"It's not just the kids, Bin, I have so much baggage that you don't even know about," Jinwoo said quietly, "I just don't want you to regret it."

“None of it will change my opinion of you,” Moonbin said quickly.  “You deserve to be happy and I’m willing to do anything it takes to make sure that happens.  I won’t regret a thing.” He squeezed Jinwoo’s hand in reassurance.

Jinwoo knew that he needed to make a decision now. If there was one thing he hated, it was leading people on and being lead on himself. "We can try," he said finally.

Moonbin let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.  “I’ll treat you and the boys right, I promise,” he whispered. He couldn’t wait to spoil Jinwoo and his boys; they certainly deserved it.

Jinwoo stood up, still holding Moonbin’s hand. “Let’s go to bed,” he said softly.

Moonbin nodded slowly and stood up to follow Jinwoo.  “Okay,” he said lamely; he was too tired to do much else but agree.

Jinwoo guided Moonbin down the hallway, letting their fingers lace together. Once they were in bed, he settled Sanha between them and pressed as close as he could. He nosed up and kissed Moonbin softly.

Moonbin followed behind Jinwoo, happily intertwining their fingers.  He climbed into bed and settled himself on his side, sighing softly when Jinwoo kissed him.

Jinwoo was glad it was too dark for Moonbin to see him, because he was blushing like crazy. If it weren’t for Sanha in the way, he knew he would have every inch of himself pressed against the younger. He was _that_ touch starved.

Moonbin easily worked his lips against Jinwoo’s, setting a slow, gentle pace.  He knew they both needed to get to sleep, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull away.  Slowly he reached over Sanha, careful not to hurt the toddler, to rest his hand on Jinwoo’s waist.

Moonbin’s hand felt like it was burning on his waist. Jinwoo pulled away from the kiss. “We gotta stop,” he whispered.

Moonbin slowly pulled his arm away from Jinwoo and scooted toward the edge of the bed, giving Sanha more room.  “Goodnight, Jinwoo,” he murmured simply. He didn’t know what to think, but what he did know was that they both needed their rest.

Jinwoo felt bad for pushing Moonbin away, but he knew he would easily become miserable if he kept going. To be so close to being held, yet prevented, was awful.

Moonbin couldn’t fall asleep no matter how long he laid there with his eyes closed.   He thought about moving out to the couch but he didn’t want to disturb Jinwoo or Sanha so instead he slowly rolled onto his back.   Draping his arm over his eyes, he hoped the new position helped him fall asleep.

Jinwoo found himself lying awake and playing with Sanha’s hair absently as he thought. Was he really ready to let someone into his life in the capacity that Moonbin was asking? He had been all but ruined for relationships at a young age, so this was all new to him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Moonbin noticed some movement and realized that Jinwoo was also awake.  He really couldn’t afford to move out to the couch now. Shifting slightly, he finally settled down and was able to fall asleep, although it wasn’t anything more than a doze.  One of the many times he opened his eyes, he noticed the light streaming through the window and groaned quietly. He was incredibly grateful he didn’t have to go to work because he was quite exhausted.

Jinwoo had been about to fall asleep when Seongwoo had started whimpering from his crib. Desperate to not wake Moonbin, he scooped the baby up and took him and his blanket out to the couch. After making sure his diaper was clean and that he wasn’t hungry, Jinwoo laid on the couch with the baby on his chest and lulled him back to sleep before falling asleep himself.

When Moonbin rolled over he realized that Jinwoo was no longer in bed.  He sat up with a sigh, he hadn’t even noticed the elder had gotten up. While he walked out of the room he noticed that the crib was also empty.   It didn’t take much searching before he found Jinwoo asleep on the couch with Seongwoo on his chest. Not wanting to disturb the pair, he watched them for a few minutes before retreating back into the bedroom.  Sanha had rolled himself onto Jinwoo’s side of the bed and Moonbin gently moved him back into the middle before settling himself down again. He decided he would sleep for a little longer and then make breakfast for all of them.

When Jinwoo woke up again, it was to sunlight streaming through the window and tiny fists hitting his chest. Seongwoo was awake and flinging his tiny hands around. It made Jinwoo smile.

Moonbin finally blinked his eyes open and realized that Sanha was awake as well.  “Come here,” he said softly as he slipped from the bed and scooped Sanha into his arms.  The sleepy toddler immediately settled his head on Moonbin’s shoulder and he smiled. When he walked down the hallway he noticed Jinwoo was awake and whispered a “good morning” before disappearing into the kitchen to make pancakes, which proved to be a bit more difficult with only one hand.

Jinwoo looked up from where he was watching Seongwoo and was surprised to see Moonbin carrying Sanha. After a moment, he got up and followed the two into the kitchen. “You can put him down you know,” he said softly as he settled Seongwoo in his chair.

Moonbin turned around when Jinwoo entered the kitchen.   “Yeah,” he replied quietly, “he just seems comfortable so I didn’t want to disturb him.”  He adored when the toddler snuggled against him and could never bring himself to put him down when he did.  Plus, he had somehow managed to put together the pancake mix and was just waiting for the pan to heat up.

Jinwoo smiled softly. It was obvious how much Moonbin and Sanha adored one another. Now, in the daylight, he was much less hesitant about being together with Moonbin. Maybe this would all work out.

Moonbin turned back to the stove top and carefully ladled some batter into the pan.  He made sure to keep Sanha well away from the stove and smiled softly when the toddler picked his head up curiously.

Jinwoo sat in one of the chairs, giving himself a few moments of respite before he had to get Seongwoo’s bottle ready. He watched Moonbin, unable to keep his eyes from straying...south.

“Do you want chocolate chip pancakes?” Moonbin asked Sanha.  The toddler nodded eagerly in response, suddenly wide awake. “Is that okay?” Moonbin asked over his shoulder.

“If I have chocolate chips,” Jinwoo said with a yawn, finally getting up to get Seongwoo’s bottle ready. Once it was the right temperature, he lifted the boy out of his chair and cradled him in one arm so he could eat.

Moonbin smiled victoriously and grabbed a bag of chocolate chips from one of the cabinets.  He had picked them up when he went grocery shopping as a little surprise for when he made pancakes.  Making his way back to the stove top he sprinkled the half cooked pancakes with chips and waited for them to be ready to flip.

“I think,” Jinwoo said with a yawn, “I’m gonna call Dongmin and ask him to take Seongwoo for a few hours.” Sanha was scheduled to go to Minhyuk’s for a play date, meaning that, without the boys, Jinwoo could nap in peace.

“Alright,” Moonbin replied, “what time is Myungjun coming to pick up Sanha?”  He was a little nervous what was going to happen with both boys gone but at least it would give him and Jinwoo a chance to talk uninterrupted.

Jinwoo flipped his wrist to check his watch. “In an hour,” he said. That gave him more than enough time to feed Sanha and get him ready to go. Once Seongwoo was done eating, Jinwoo would text Dongmin.

“Oh perfect,” Moonbin said.   He cooked the rest of the pancakes and carried the plate to the kitchen table.   After putting Sanha in his chair, Moonbin grabbed his bib from the counter; knowing the toddler, chocolate was bound to get everywhere, and put it on.  He cut up a pancake for Sanha before grabbing plates for him and Jinwoo.

Once Myungjun and Dongmin had both come and left with Jinwoo’s kids in tow, the man found himself on the couch. With a groan, he buried his face in a pillow, trying to block out the sunlight. All he managed to do was suffocate himself.

“Why don’t you go lay down in bed?” Moonbin suggested, “It’s much more comfortable.”  Breakfast was finally cleaned up and he was making his way to his briefcase by the door to grab his laptop.

“Only if you lay with me,” Jinwoo mumbled, voice muffled by his pillow. He didn’t particularly want to move again, but he knew Moonbin was right. Falling asleep on the couch earlier was certainly a mistake and he was paying for it now.

“Done,” Moonbin agreed easily.  He put his laptop on the kitchen table - his emails could wait til later - and made his way over to the couch.  “Come on, sleepyhead. Let’s get you to bed,” he said as he grabbed Jinwoo’s hand to gently pull him off the couch.

Jinwoo trailed behind Moonbin to the bedroom, rubbing his eye with his free hand. He got into the bed, pulling Moonbin with him so he could get situated comfortably.

Moonbin let himself be pulled onto the bed and settled himself down on his side.  Taking a deep breath, he wrapped an arm around Jinwoo and pulled the elder the rest of the way against him.

Jinwoo smiled to himself as he was able to settle against Moonbin. “Don’t lay on your side, dummy,” he chastised gently, “your shoulder will get sore.”

Moonbin huffed lightly before rolling onto his back.  He turned his head to the side watching Jinwoo contently.  With a soft sigh he decided against kissing him. As much as he wanted to, he wasn’t sure how Jinwoo felt.

Jinwoo pressed close, fitting himself under Moonbin’s arm and laying his head on the younger’s chest. He was exhausted but too jumpy to fall asleep.

Moonbin sighed softly; Jinwoo felt so tense against him so he slowly rubbed his hand across his back.  He turned his head so he place a gentle kiss on the top of Jinwoo’s head. “I can feel the tension radiating off of you.  What’s wrong?” he asked gently.

“’M just tense,” Jinwoo mumbled, voice somewhat muffled by Moonbin’s shirt. He didn’t really know why he was so tense, but it probably had something to do with this being the first time he was so close to another person in a non-platonic way in years.

Moonbin continued rubbing Jinwoo’s back, hoping that would help him relax.  He shifted slightly so he could lay his head against Jinwoo’s and slowly closed his own eyes.  “The boys are fine and I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered, “try to get some rest; you need it.”

“I can’t,” Jinwoo said softly, “I’m too hyper focused on you right now.”

“Too focused on me?” Moonbin felt his eyebrows raise, “am I that much of a distraction?”  He felt bad that he was the reason Jinwoo couldn’t sleep, but he was also slightly confused.  Moonbin didn’t think he was all that interesting so he had no idea what was keeping the elder awake.

“Somewhat,” Jinwoo murmured, “I haven’t been remotely close to someone like this since...high school, probably.” It felt weird to admit that, especially when he’d been out for almost eight years now.

Moonbin hummed in understanding; he hadn’t been in a relationship himself since college.  Once he had started working, he had completely focused himself on his job. “We have a lot of time to make up for then,” he whispered, nuzzling into Jinwoo’s hair.

Jinwoo hummed and forced himself to relax. This was fine. This was okay. Things weren’t going to happen badly like last time. He was okay.

“I can practically hear you thinking, Jinwoo,” Moonbin whispered, “What’s going on? You can talk to me you know,”  In that moment, it suddenly dawned on Moonbin just how little he actually knew about Jinwoo.

“It’s nothing,” Jinwoo said. He wasn’t ready to talk about all that had happened during his high school years. He didn’t think he ever would be.

Moonbin knew better than to push the issue and instead tightened his arm around Jinwoo.  “I’ll be here whenever you want to talk,” he murmured simply.

“Thank you,” Jinwoo mumbled. He turned his head to look up at Moonbin better. “Hey,” he said softly, “you should kiss me.”

“Happily,” Moonbin said with a soft smile.  He leaned down slightly and gently pressed their lips together.

Jinwoo happily kissed Moonbin back. He didn’t think he would ever get enough of this. The comfort he gained from Moonbin was indescribable.

Moonbin shifted on the bed so he could deepen the kiss.  He was grateful that Dongmin and Myungjun had taken the boys for the day so he had the opportunity to enjoy Jinwoo all to himself.

Jinwoo felt himself tense up when Moonbin deepened the kiss. He certainly was not ready for things to go further than this.

Moonbin pulled back when he felt Jinwoo tense up.  “Are you okay?” he asked nervously. His eyes darted around Jinwoo’s face trying to reassure himself that the elder was alright.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Jinwoo said, taking a deep breath. He felt bad for freaking out, but that was always his problem. He wanted intimacy, but got scared once he got it.

Moonbin frowned slightly, not entirely convinced.  He leaned down to pepper gentle kisses around Jinwoo’s face, trying to calm him down.  Slowly he made his way from Jinwoo’s forehead to his jawline.

Jinwoo took a deep breath to calm himself down. “I’m okay,” he said again. He was, he was fine. He was just...anxious.

Moonbin hummed as he continued to press slow, gentle kisses along Jinwoo’s jaw.  He gradually made his way back to Jinwoo’s lips to peck them lightly.

Jinwoo smiled softly as Moonbin continued kissing him. It was gentle and soothing. He felt like he could fall asleep.

Moonbin sighed in relief when he felt Jinwoo begin to relax.  He hoped that Jinwoo would finally be able to get some rest. “Go to sleep, baby,” he said gently as he continued to gently kiss the elder’s face.

“You’re distracting me,” Jinwoo whined. He didn’t make any move to pull away though. He was too comfortable.

Moonbin chuckled quietly.  “I’m sorry,” he said, moving his lips up the other side of Jinwoo’s jaw, “do you want me to stop?”  He didn’t want to stop; he was enjoying the feeling of Jinwoo’s soft skin under his lips too much.

“Hmm, not really,” Jinwoo hummed, “just don’t do too...much.” He didn’t want to go too far until he was certain he could trust Moonbin explicitly.

“I won’t,” Moonbin assured.  He would never dream of doing anything Jinwoo was uncomfortable with, right now he was just happy to be laying together.  He continued to kiss around Jinwoo’s face stealing proper kisses every now and then.

Jinwoo felt himself slowly nodding off as Moonbin continued to press gentle kisses into his face. It was so relaxing, just laying with another person like this.

Moonbin pulled away when he heard Jinwoo’s breathing even out, glad that he was finally able to get some rest.  He smiled softly as he watched the elder’s sleeping face closely. Moonbin felt so incredibly lucky to have Jinwoo wrapped in his arms, and he vowed in that moment that he would never leave his side.

Within a few days, Jinwoo had no hesitations about being affectionate with Moonbin. By the time a week had passed, he barely left Moonbin alone when he was home. Not that it was hard. There wasn’t much room for Moonbin to hide.

Moonbin was absolutely soaking up all the attention Jinwoo was giving him.  He never skimped on the kisses and was so happy with how comfortable Jinwoo was with him now.  One of his favorite things was the moment he finally got home from work and this Friday was no exception.  “Jinwoo, I’m home,” he called cheerily when he walked in the door.

“Bathroom,” Jinwoo called over his shoulder. He was about to fistfight Sanha in order to get the toddler into the tub. He was soaked and frustrated.

Moonbin toed off his shoes and placed his briefcase by the door before heading into the bathroom.  “What’s going on in here?” he asked when he saw a soaked Jinwoo and a very dry Sanha.

“Yoon Sanha,” Jinwoo grumbled, wiping his hands on his shirt and pushing his bangs out of his face. “Get in the stupid bathtub.”

Moonbin bit back a laugh; Jinwoo was absolutely adorable when he was frustrated but he couldn’t laugh in front of the toddler.  “Sanha,” Moonbin warned, “I know you don’t want to but you have to take a bath. If you’re good for Uncle Jinwoo maybe you can stay up a little later tonight.”  He didn’t like overstepping Jinwoo, but sometimes the toddler could be incredibly stubborn.

Jinwoo was done. He had been fighting with Sanha for almost an hour and he was just...done. With a huff, he got up and left the room, leaving Moonbin to deal with Sanha.

“Come on, Sanha,” Moonbin said.  He easily wrangled the toddler into a corner and scooped him up.   Gently placing him in the tub, he dodged as much of the splashing as he could, before finally beginning to wash the toddler.  Twenty minutes later, Sanha was bathed, dried, dressed in his pajamas, and sitting in Moonbin’s lap on the couch like he was promised.

Jinwoo was in the kitchen with his face pillowed on his arms. He was so frustrated. Sanha was finally starting to realize that he technically didn’t have to listen to what Jinwoo told him to do and it was exhausting. On top of that, Seongwoo had been difficult recently too. He was just so fed up.

Moonbin played with Sanha until he noticed the toddler was getting sleepy.  He stood up and on his way down the hall he realized Jinwoo was in the kitchen.  Backtracking, he entered the kitchen instead. “Sanha, do you have something you want to say to your uncle for not being a good listener earlier?” he asked.  One of the agreements for him letting Sanha stay up a little was that the toddler would apologize. Sure he was still little, but if he was old enough to act out, Moonbin figured he was old enough to apologize for it.

Jinwoo picked his head and looked at Sanha, who mumbled a soft “sorry.” With a sigh, he nodded and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

Moonbin nodded and turned back around to bring Sanha to the bedroom.  “I don’t want to come home to you giving your uncle a hard time again,” he said as he walked down the hallway.   He laid Sanha in the middle of the bed and he was out like a light, tired out from all the resisting. After placing a gentle kiss on Sanha’s forehead, Moonbin moved back into the kitchen.  He slipped into the seat next to Jinwoo and wordlessly began rubbing the elder’s back.

Jinwoo’s head dropped back onto his arms and he groaned. “I never wanted kids,” he mumbled, “I fucking hated kids. I always knew I was gonna fuck them up and look at what’s happening.” He knew he was being a little unreasonable, but he was just so god damn done.

"Hey hey hey," Moonbin said quickly, "this isn't your fault.  It's hard taking care of two kids, especially when they were both dropped on you pretty suddenly, but you don't have to do it alone anymore.  I'm going to be here to help you and sure mistakes will be made, but that's okay. Look how much you've done for both of those boys so far. They're just getting bigger and this is part of them growing up, it has no reflection on you."  Spending so much time with Sanha and Seongwoo lately had taught him so much more about kids and parenting than he ever thought he would know.

“They’re growing up so fast and pretty soon this,” he gestured around, “isn’t gonna work anymore. Sanha’s gonna be too big to share the bed and I can’t fit a second bed and the crib in that room. If I’m not careful, the kids will get taken away.”

Moonbin took a deep breath, he had actually been thinking about suggesting moving to Jinwoo, but he never had the opportunity to bring it up until now.  “Well,” he began slowly, “we’ve been living together for the past week and a half and it’s worked out okay. My apartment still isn’t ready to be moved back into and it only has two bedrooms so why don’t we start looking for something a little bigger for all of us.”  He knew moving in together permanently was a big step and he wasn’t quite sure if Jinwoo was ready for that.

“I...Bin, that’s so soon,” Jinwoo said hesitantly, “I mean, I know this is working now, but we’ve barely been together, we barely know what living together in a good space will actually be like.”

Moonbin ran his hand through his hair.  Jinwoo was right, they didn’t know if it would work out.  “How about this, my apartment should be ready within the week.  Let’s just get through this next few days and then we can all move there.  That will give us all a little bit more space and we can see how Sanha does sleeping on his own.  If that works out than we can start looking for something that will properly fit us. Seongwoo will still be in the crib for a little while so we have time before he needs his own room.”  Moonbin didn’t want to think about what would happen if this didn’t work out so he focused on the positives instead.

“I-I don’t know, Bin,” Jinwoo said, “I can’t help with rent. I can barely handle the rent here plus groceries plus baby stuff. I don’t want to burden you any more than I already am.”

“Burden me? Jinwoo, if anyone’s been a burden it’s me,” Moonbin said quickly.  “You let me stay with you in an already cramped apartment for almost two weeks now.  Let me make this up to you. You don’t need to worry about the rent, or even the groceries; I can take care of that stuff.  I just want to make sure you and the boys are happy and comfortable.” He said all of this, especially the last sentence, with the utmost sincerity.  In his opinion, sharing his apartment would be much better for everyone, and he hoped he could convince Jinwoo to at least try it.

“No, absolutely not,” Jinwoo said immediately, “I’m not...I’m not a freeloader, Bin. That isn’t happening.” He had promised himself years ago that he would never again be dependent on someone like that again.

“You wouldn’t be a freeloader,” Moonbin said soothingly, “I owe you for letting me stay here for two weeks.  Come stay with me for two weeks to at least make up for this time and we can make a decision afterwards. Would that work?”  He didn’t want to force Jinwoo into anything, but he at least wanted to make up for the time he had been living here.

“Let me pay for groceries,” Jinwoo said evenly. He wasn’t going to simply live with Moonbin without contributing something. That wasn’t how he did things.

“Fine,” Moonbin said with a sigh.  He really didn’t like the idea of Jinwoo paying for groceries, but he knew agreeing was the only way he would come live at Moonbin’s apartment.  “Everything is going to work out. I promise,” he added as he reached over to take Jinwoo’s hand in his own.

Jinwoo squeezed Moonbin’s hand gently. “Okay,” he said finally, “we can try it. Emphasis on try.” He didn’t want to give in too much. He liked Moonbin, but he wasn’t going to give up all control.

“We’ll try it,” Moonbin repeated, “do you think Sanha will be okay sleeping on his own?”  He was very excited to be moving to a bigger space, but change was scary, especially considering how young the boys were.

“I think so,” Jinwoo said, “we’ll have to get guards so that he doesn’t roll off the bed, but I think he’ll be okay. He’s gotta learn sometime.” He dragged his thumb across the back of Moonbin’s hand, deep in thought.

“We can get guards,” Moonbin agreed.  He shifted his chair closer to Jinwoo and simply sat there, letting the elder collect his thoughts.

“How much longer until you’re allowed back in your apartment?” Jinwoo would have to check and see when he could leave his lease or if he would have to continue making payments while not living there.

“Three days,” Moonbin replied.  It was nice to finally have a definitive date of when he can move back in.

“I might not be able to move then, I’ll have to talk to my landlord,” Jinwoo said softly. Now would be a really good time for him to have any sort of legal knowledge, but he was clueless.

“We’ll figure something out,” Moonbin said confidently.  He wasn’t quite sure how everything was going to work out, but he knew that it was going to.  “You don’t have to move with me so soon,” he added gently, “I’ll move back in in three days and get everything set up for you.  After that’s done you and the boys can move whenever you’re ready.”

Jinwoo didn’t want to admit that he was nervous about the entire thing. Living with Dongmin was one thing. He trusted Dongmin with his entire life. But living with his boyfriend of two weeks who he barely actually knew? That was completely different.

Moonbin sighed; he didn’t miss the uncertainty written across Jinwoo’s face so slid his chair the rest of the way over.  “If it doesn’t work out, everything can go back to exactly how it is, okay?” he assured gently.

“Yeah,” Jinwoo said with a sigh. He looked up at Moonbin and attempted a smile. It came out sort of half hearted. “Someday, I’ll tell you all about why I’m so anxious, but not tonight.”

“You can tell me whenever you’re ready,” Moonbin whispered.  He squeezed Jinwoo’s hand and leaned closer to place a chaste kiss on his lips.

Jinwoo smiled for real this time and kissed Moonbin again. If there was one thing he enjoyed about this entire arrangement, it was that: kisses.

Moonbin happily kissed Jinwoo back, glad that he was beginning to calm down.  His free hand came up to rest on the elder’s thigh. He slowly worked his lips against Jinwoo’s not wanting to scare him away again.  

Jinwoo had learned that Moonbin was simply a touchy person when he kissed. A hand on his thigh didn’t mean he actually wanted to go any further. Instead of freaking out, he simply laid a hand over Moonbin’s and pressed closer.

Moonbin hummed contently against Jinwoo’s lips when he pressed closer.  He was happy that Jinwoo was much more comfortable with him, but he still had to remind himself to not get too rough sometimes.  Slowly, he pulled away to catch his breath for a moment. Not wanting to get too far away he gently pressed his forehead against Jinwoo’s.

“Let’s go to bed,” Jinwoo suggested. He was tired from fighting with Sanha and didn’t even feel like eating.

Moonbin pulled back and nodded, making a mental note to get up early to make a good breakfast for everyone.  He slowly stood up, gently pulling Jinwoo with him and guided them down the hallway. Letting their fingers intertwine naturally, Moonbin held Jinwoo's hand almost like he was afraid to let go.  

Jinwoo let himself be guided down the hallway and into the bedroom. Pulling away from Moonbin, he checked on Seongwoo before settling himself down next to Sanha.

Moonbin climbed into bed carefully so as not to disturb Sanha.  “Goodnight, Jinwoo,” he whispered when they had both settled down.

Jinwoo leaned up and kissed Moonbin gently. “Night,” he murmured.

Moonbin fell asleep surprisingly quickly and when he woke up the following morning he was glad that both Jinwoo and Sanha were still asleep.  Careful not to disturb them, Moobin slipped from the bed and quickly washed up in the bathroom before heading out to the kitchen. He hoped he had enough time before Jinwoo woke up to surprise him with a nice breakfast.

Jinwoo was surprised to find Moonbin gone when he woke up. With a quiet groan, he got up and lifted Seongwoo out of the crib. Cradling the sleeping baby gently, he made his way out to the kitchen.

Moonbin turned away from the stove when he heard footsteps behind him.  “Morning,” he whispered chiperly, not wanting to wake Seongwoo, “I slept a little later than I anticipated so it’s not quite ready yet.”  He was a little disappointed he wasn’t able to have breakfast ready by the time Jinwoo woke up, but he knew there were plenty more mornings to come.

“That’s okay,” Jinwoo said quietly, smiling softly, “I have to feed this one first anyway.” He carefully laid Seongwoo over his shoulder and moved about making up his formula with one hand.

Moonbin watched Jinwoo closely while he finished making breakfast.   “How do you feel about taking the kids to the zoo today?” he asked slowly, “the weather is supposed to be really nice and we haven’t done anything like this before.”  The last weekend was spent cuddling on the couch and watching movies and Moonbin couldn’t help but want to try something different for the boys.

Jinwoo was conflicted. He wanted the boys to be able to do something fun, but he certainly couldn’t afford the zoo. He knew Moonbin would have no issues paying, but he didn’t want to always be depending on his boyfriend for money. He knew all too well that that led to bad things.

Moonbin recognized Jinwoo’s face of uncertainty all too well, and knew it had everything to do with money.  He wasn’t going to force Jinwoo to do anything he was uncomfortable with, that wasn’t fair, but he did want to try and do something with the boys.  “What about the park instead?” he amended, “I’m sure Myungjun would love to meet us there with Minhyuk.”

Jinwoo released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Yeah,” he said, “the park would be perfect.”

Moonbin beamed, “I’ll wake Sanha up when I’m done cooking.”  He was excited, sure it was only going to the park a few blocks away, but it was going to be the first thing they did as a...family.  Moonbin wasn’t sure if they were quite a family yet, but he certainly wasn’t opposed to the word.

Jinwoo smiled as he gently bounced Seongwoo awake. The baby yawned and looked around sleepily as Jinwoo moved him back to laying down in the crook of one arm. He grabbed the bottle off the counter and helped Seongwoo find the tip as he sat at the table.

Moonbin made a plate of food for Jinwoo, himself, and a small one for Sanha before going into the bedroom to wake the toddler.  He smiled softly at the tired whine he got in response and carried Sanha into the kitchen. After Moonbin sat Sanha in his chair, he slipped into his own and dug into his own breakfast, while keeping an eye on the toddler.  “Do you want me to take Seongwoo so you can eat?” Moonbin asked, he felt bad that Jinwoo almost always ate his food cold because he was busy with the baby.

“No, he’ll be done soon, that’s okay,” Jinwoo said dismissively. Seongwoo was barely partway through the bottle, but Moonbin deserved to eat the breakfast he’d worked so hard on before it went cold.

Moonbin pursed his lips, and wordlessly turned his focus back to his breakfast.  He could easily see that Seongwoo was nowhere near done with the bottle, but there was no use in arguing when he knew Jinwoo wouldn’t budge.  He hoped that Jinwoo would share some of the responsibilities of the boys eventually, but that would come with time.

By the time Seongwoo finished his bottle and had been burped, Jinwoo’s breakfast was long cold and Sanha was fully ready to head to the park. With a sigh, Jinwoo stuck his food in the fridge and went to change Seongwoo so they could leave.

Moonbin somehow managed to wrangle Sanha into shoes, but could barely keep the excited toddler from bouncing right out the door.  “I really don’t like the idea of you not eating before we go,” Moonbin said when Jinwoo reentered the room, “we can bring a small bag of snacks with us.”

“True, it’s a lot easier to lure Sanha home when he’s in a food coma,” Jinwoo said, completely ignoring the first half of Moonbin’s sentence. He handed the baby off to his boyfriend and went to pack a small lunch bag full of crackers and other small snacks.

Moonbin frowned as he took Seongwoo into his arms.  He was grateful that Jinwoo was much more physically comfortable with him, but there was definitely a lot more they needed to work on.  With a sigh, he turned his attention to Seongwoo while keeping one eye on Jinwoo to make sure he packed enough snacks.

Once the lunch bag was full, Jinwoo hooked it over his arm and returned to the living room to take the baby back. “Ready to go?” he asked.

“I think so,” Moonbin said as he scooped up Sanha.  He tried to enjoy the walk to the park, but he was too distracted sneaking nervous looks at Jinwoo.  Everyone once and awhile a small hand against his cheek would pull his attention away and he would acknowledge whatever Sanha was pointing at.

By the time they reached the park, Jinwoo’s arms were killing him. He had tripped earlier in the week and injured his shoulder, so the weight of Seongwoo, tiny as he was, was killing him. He quickly found a bench and sat down so that he could put the baby in his lap.

“What’s wrong?” Moonbin asked, concern lacing his voice, when he noticed Jinwoo quickly sit down.  He was barely holding onto Sanha; the toddler was doing his absolute best to wiggle free. “And don’t tell me it’s nothing,” he added sternly.

“It’s nothing,” Jinwoo said, letting Seongwoo play with his fingers and grimacing when his shoulder clicked. “You can let Sanha go, Myungjun and Minhyuk are right over there.”

Moonbin set Sanha down and waved to Myungjun before he sat next to Jinwoo.  He kept his eyes glued on Sanha while he made his way over to Minhyuk. Once he had reached them, Moonbin sat back and pressed his lips together, as worried as he was, he wasn’t going to pry.

Jinwoo sighed and leaned his head in Moonbin’s shoulder as he watched Sanha and Minhyuk play. “If I remember correctly, my lease isn’t like a time period contract, it just gets renewed every time I pay rent. We can move whenever you’re ready for us.”

Moonbin sighed softly and relaxed when Jinwoo leaned into him.  “Jinwoo, you really don’t have to if it’s too soon. I can wait as long as you need,” he said quietly.

“My apartment is a shoebox and it’s becoming dangerous,” Jinwoo said with a sigh. He didn’t like to admit it, but he needed to do better. For the kids.

“I can go back Monday so give me a couple days to clean up and baby proof and then we can move you,” Moonbin said with a smile.  He was incredibly excited and had hope that everything was going to work out.

Jinwoo sighed again, happy this time. He rested his free hand in Moonbin’s thigh, just above his knee, and squeezed gently. Hopefully, this would all work out for all of them.

Moonbin laid his hand on top of Jinwoo’s and gently moved his thumb back and worth.  “Do you want me to take Seongwoo for a little while?” he asked.

Jinwoo looked down at the baby, whose eyes were fluttering as if he was about to fall asleep. “I’m okay,” he decided, “I don’t wanna wake him.”

“Alright,” Moonbin replied.  He started making a mental list of everything he had to baby proof in his apartment from the kitchen to the bathroom, and possibly even the bedroom.  He sighed softly and took Jinwoo’s hand in his own so he could lace their fingers together.

Jinwoo turned his head slightly until he was able to press his lips to the skin of Moonbin’s shoulder. He was slowly becoming more daring with his affection, but he hoped Moonbin never pointed it out. That would just be mortifying.

“Hi there,” Moonbin said with a soft chuckle.  Jinwoo had grown quite affectionate over the past couple weeks but Moonbin didn’t think that would extend to being in public.  He was proven quite wrong. “Are you going to kiss me properly or do I have to wait until we get home?” he teased.

“We’re in public,” Jinwoo mumbled, “you’re lucky I’m tired or I wouldn’t even be holding your hand.”

Moonbin smiled softly.  “If you’re going to take a nap I can hold Seongwoo.  Although this probably isn’t the most comfortable place to fall asleep.”  Moonbin’s eyes widened when he remembered that Jinwoo had yet to eat anything, “do you want a snack?”

“I’m not really hungry,” Jinwoo said. He was thinking that they’d should’ve brought a blanket so they could lay down in the grass. It would be much better for napping.

“Ok ok,” Moonbin relented.  He watched Sanha and Minhyuk happily play together and couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his face.  

Jinwoo watched Sanha and didn’t even notice Myungjun coming over to sit next to them until the elder started talking. “So you two are a thing now.”

“Yeah,” Moonbin said excitedly, squeezing Jinwoo’s hand slightly, when Myungjun made his way over.  He pressed closer to Jinwoo to make more room on the bench.

“You say that as if you and Dongmin haven’t been secretly sleeping together for a month now,” Jinwoo said, looking at Myungjun out of the corner of his eye.

Moonbin’s eyes widened and he bit his lip to keep his mouth from dropping open.  “You and Dongmin are together?” he asked incredulously.

“No,” Myungjun said curtly, “Dongmin and I are _sleeping_ together. That’s it.” Jinwoo rolled his eyes and shook his head. He knew Myungjun was just being an ass about having feelings after his ex-wife had stomped all over them. Bless Dongmin and his patience.

“Oh I see,” Moonbin said quickly.  He dropped his eyes to his lap. The thought of double dates had him excited but it looked like he would have to wait a little while before that was a possibility.

"I'm gonna be moving again too," Jinwoo said after a minute. He figured he should drop the bomb now with Myungjun rather than with Dongmin. It would go over much better that way.

Moonbin snuck a quick glance at Myungjun, trying to gauge his reaction.  He was surprised Jinwoo had mentioned moving now, but he supposed it was a good of time as any.

"Oh, let me know when, I'll help you," Myungjun said absently, watching Minhyuk and Sanha play on the swings, "Minhyuk, don't carry him around like that!"

Moonbin looked up just as Minhyuk set Sanha back down.  “It’ll be Wednesday or Thursday depending on how quickly I can get the apartment baby proofed,” Moonbin said.

"That sounds great," Jinwoo hummed. He was actually getting excited to live with Moonbin now. He had just needed some time to warm up to the idea. "Can you take Seongwoo for a bit? My arm is numb."

“Of course,” Moonbin replied.  He regretfully let go of Jinwoo’s hand so he could take Seongwoo into his arms.  He had no problems toting Sanha around in one arm, but he still wasn’t quite confident enough to do that with Seongwoo yet.

"He's not gonna break, babe," Jinwoo said with a soft smile, "babies are more durable than they look." It was cute how gentle Moonbin was with Seongwoo.

Moonbin let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.  “I know, I know, he’s just so small,” he whispered. He gently shifted Seongwoo so that he could take Jinwoo’s hand in his own again, his eyes never leaving the baby’s face.

Moonbin's focus may have been on Seongwoo, but Jinwoo's focus was on Moonbin. If they stayed together, Moonbin would be a parent to Jinwoo's nephews. He wondered if the younger actually wanted that.

Moonbin watched Seongwoo closely. Granted, the baby was only sleeping but he was still infatuated.  Finally tearing his eyes away from the baby, Moonbin turned towards Jinwoo. “Stop worrying about whatever’s on your mind and just enjoy the nice weather,” Moonbin said when he saw Jinwoo’s expression.  Even though it was nearing the end of September it was still warm enough for them to enjoy the day, but not too hot that it was unbearable.

Jinwoo just rolled his eyes and kissed the corner of Moonbin’s mouth. “It is a nice day, isn’t it?” He should probably put some sunscreen on Sanha, but he didn’t have any.

“It is,” Moonbin agreed, smiling softly.  The three of the sat on the bench talking for the next couple hours until Sanha and Minhyuk finally wandered over, exhausted from tackling every inch of the playscape.  The rest of the weekend was just as eventful between cleaning up and baby proofing Moonbin’s apartment and packing up all of Jinwoo’s stuff. By mid-week, and not without Myungjun and Dongmin’s help, they were finally all settled into Moonbin’s apartment.   

Jinwoo was exhausted after an entire day of moving and dealing with the kids. Now that everything was moved in, he was ready for bed. Sanha was spending his first night in his own room alone and Jinwoo didn’t want to think about how anxious he was.

Moonbin was more nervous than he anticipated for their first night in his apartment.  Even though Sanha now had his own bed, with plenty of room and guards to ensure he didn’t roll out; Moonbin had no idea how he would do.  He had run to the store earlier with Sanha to pick out a couple stuffed animals the toddler might like and he hoped those would help the toddler feel more comfortable.  “Alright Sanha, are you ready for bed?” he finally asked.

Jinwoo was in his and Moonbin’s bedroom, getting Seongwoo changed and ready for bed. Just Bin’s bedroom alone was practically half the size of Jinwoo’s old apartment, which meant there was plenty of room for the crib and Moonbin’s king size bed. Seriously, who needed that much bed? Jinwoo’s feet didn’t even reach the end of the mattress.

Moonbin helped the toddler brush his teeth and brought him into their bedroom to say goodnight to Jinwoo.  Finally he brought Sanha into his own room and laid the toddler in the bed. Sanha began whining and tried to get out of the bed when Moonbin turned to leave so he kneeled next to the bed to tuck Sanha back in and stayed there, quietly whispering, until he fell asleep.  Standing up slowly he made his way back to his bedroom, leaving Sanha’s door open so he could get out if he woke up. “Sanha’s asleep,” he announced, “I just hope he sleeps through the whole night.” He climbed into bed and wrapped his arms around a pillow as he settled on his stomach.

“I hope so too,” Jinwoo said, “did he seem okay when you put him down?” He hoped Sanha wasn’t scared on his own, but he wouldn’t be surprised if he was.

“He was a little upset when I tried to leave the first time and tried to follow me,” Moonbin admitted, “but he settled right down when I stayed.  He’s never been upset when we’ve put him down and left, but I think he knows we’re not coming back to stay with him tonight.” He kept his eyes trained on Jinwoo, knowing that he was just as nervous as Sanha was for tonight.

“I think he’ll be okay,” Jinwoo said, “he used to sleep alone all the time when I had night shifts.” Sanha would often be awake before Jinwoo got home, and Dongmin never stayed in bed with him.

“Oh good,” Moonbin said, letting out a long sigh, “are you okay?”  Just because Jinwoo seemed to be handling everything well didn’t necessarily mean he was.

“Oh, yeah,” Jinwoo said, “I’m just unnecessarily anxious.” He was the one that wasn’t used to sleeping without Sanha. It would be a weird night.

“It’s not unnecessary,” Moonbin said, pushing himself up off the bed slightly so the pillow didn’t muffle his voice.  “This is a big change, it’s understandable that you’re anxious. Everything’s going to be okay; I promise.”

“I just hope he doesn’t get mad at me,” Jinwoo said with a sigh. He was somewhat glad to finally be moving Sanha out of his space, but it was still a big change.

“I don’t think he will,” Moobin said confidently, “I’m sure after a few nights he’ll love having his own room.  Now come lay down, I miss you.” He faked a pout while he waited for Jinwoo to finish getting Seongwoo settled in the crib.

Jinwoo rolled his eyes fondly but finally set Seongwoo down and climbed into bed with Moonbin. It was their first night almost alone together, if you discount the baby.

Moonbin shifted so he could wrap his arms around Jinwoo and pull the elder against him.  “Everything’s going to be okay,” he reassured as he snuggled closer.

Jinwoo adjusted himself until he was laying against Moonbin comfortably. He twisted around to kiss Moonbin gently before settling again. “I certainly hope so,” he said with a sigh.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure of it,” Moonbin’s voice was barely above a whisper but it still held sincerity.  “Now try to get some rest, baby, you need it.”

With a yawn, Jinwoo cuddled up to Moonbin and quickly fell asleep. He was just that exhausted.

Moonbin stayed awake for a little while longer, enjoying just holding Jinwoo.  He could definitely get used to falling asleep with his boyfriend in his arms. Eventually, he felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy and he slowly let them close so he could fall asleep himself.

Jinwoo woke suddenly in the middle of the night when Seongwoo started crying. He was out of bed in moments and had the baby in his arms, trying to hush him so Moonbin didn’t wake up.

Moonbin woke up slowly and sat up when he noticed Jinwoo was no longer in bed.  He finally registered Seongwoo’s whimpers coming from Jinwoo’s arms. “Is he okay?” he asked sleepily.

“I think he’s hungry,” Jinwoo said, “I’ll go feed him in the kitchen.” He had just left the room and started down the hall when he heard Sanha start crying too. Seongwoo was still wailing and Jinwoo simply didn’t have enough hands. “Bin!” he called, “can you get Sanha?”

“Of course,” Moonbin called back as he scrambled out of bed.  He quickly made his way to Sanha’s room and scooped the crying toddler into his arms.  “It’s alright, Sanha, I’m right here,” he murmured as he paced the room.

Jinwoo hurried into the kitchen and made up Seongwoo’s bottle with one hand, gently bouncing the crying baby in the other. He hoped that this was hunger. Otherwise, he was lost.

Thankfully, Sanha calmed down quickly when he was in Moonbin’s arms, but he would start whimpering anytime he tried to put him back down.  Moonbin sighed in defeat and let the toddler cuddle into his shoulder, hoping he fell back asleep soon.

Seongwoo refused to take his bottle, only crying louder when Jinwoo tried to bring it closer to his mouth. Eventually, he gave up and set the bottle back on the counter. He moved Seongwoo to lay over his shoulder and started rubbing his back gently.

Moonbin was exhausted and Sanha was refusing to go back in his bed.  He was so close to giving in and just bringing him back to their bed, but he decided against it.  He wanted to check in on Jinwoo, but he didn’t want Sanha to get set off again if Seongwoo was still upset.

Seongwoo finally started to quiet down and Jinwoo was able to get him to take his bottle. Once the baby was sucking away happily, Jinwoo went to check on Sanha and Moonbin.

Moonbin didn’t notice Jinwoo at first and jumped when he saw him standing in the doorway.  Sanha whimpered quietly when he was jostled but settled back down quickly. “He won’t go back down,” Moonbin said.  He made his way back over to the bed to try and put Sanha down again, but the toddler clung onto him and whined loudly into his shoulder.

“Sanha,” Jinwoo said tiredly, moving to sit on the toddler’s bed, “what’s wrong, love?” He held his free arm out to take Sanha from Moonbin, but the boy only clung to the younger man tighter.

Moonbin was surprised that Sanha wouldn’t go to Jinwoo.  He sighed and continued bouncing the toddler gently, not wanting to upset him further.  “I don’t know what to do,” he said desperately.

Jinwoo sighed and shook his head, standing up. “Take him out to the living room or something, calm him down. I’ll deal with him once I get Seongwoo to fall back asleep.” Hopefully, Sanha would be asleep by then too.

Moonbin nodded and took Sanha out to the living room and settled down on the couch with Sanha still tucked into his shoulder.  He fought to keep his eyes open, but gave up quickly and fell back asleep.

Jinwoo took Seongwoo back into the master bedroom. The baby finished his bottle and Jinwoo burped him before making sure his diaper was still clean and that he was on his way to falling asleep. Once the baby was back in the crib, he made his way out to the living room, where a whimpery Sanha was curled up on top of Moonbin, who was asleep.

Moonbin blinked his eyes open to reveal Jinwoo standing above him.  He sat up and gently picked Sanha up off his shoulder so he could hand him to his uncle.  “He’s almost asleep,” Moonbin said as he stifled a yawn.

Jinwoo yawned and took Sanha. The boy was a lot less resistant now that he was almost asleep, but he still obviously wanted to stay with Bin. “Go to bed,” he whispered, “I’ll be in in a bit.”

If Moonbin didn’t have to work in the morning he would have refused.  Instead he nodded and placed a gentle kiss on Jinwoo’s forehead before disappearing back into the bedroom.

With a soft sigh, Jinwoo settled himself and Sanha on the couch. The boy was just about dead to the world and Jinwoo certainly wasn’t going to ruin that, so he simply held Sanha and rubbed his back until he fell asleep again.

Moonbin tried to stay up for Jinwoo, but ending up falling asleep before he returned.  When he woke up the next morning, Jinwoo was back in his arms. Moonbin quickly shut off his alarm and pressed a gentle kiss against Jinwoo’s temple before slipping from bed.

It had taken Jinwoo what felt like hours to get Sanha back to sleep. Every time he tried to move off the couch, the boy would wake up and start whimpering again, so Jinwoo had simply stayed put. By the time he had gotten back in bed, the sky was starting to lighten outside.

Moonbin was glad he didn’t wake Jinwoo or the boys up; they must have gotten to bed late.  He quietly got ready and headed to work, unbeknownst to him that he would have to stay late.  He didn’t even have time at lunch to text Jinwoo and he hoped the elder wouldn’t worry too much.

Jinwoo was starting to worry when Moonbin wasn’t home by the boys’ bedtime, but he was much too preoccupied with Sanha. Jinwoo was trying to get him to go to bed, but he would just start screaming and run off whenever they got close to his room. On top of that, Seongwoo was also crying because he couldn’t fall asleep with all the noise and Jinwoo wondered how he ever thought he could handle two kids on his own.

Moonbin was exhausted and could feel the beginnings of a headache behind his eyes by the time he finally got out.  He didn’t remember most of the drive home, but he wasn’t worried about that. All he was worried about was taking a shower and getting to bed; well that was until he walked in the door.  He didn’t even bother taking his shoes off and instead quickly made his way down the hallway to find a sobbing Sanha running back towards the living room. “Hey, what’s going on?” he asked as he scooped the toddler into his arms.

Jinwoo himself was on the verge of tears, but he was doing his best to keep it together. “Sanha won’t go to bed, won’t even go in the room, and it’s keeping Seongwoo up, so he’s crying too,” he said tiredly, cradling the infant and bouncing him gently. He had no idea what Sanha’s problem was, but he assumed it was the boy not wanting to sleep alone, which meant that there was nothing Jinwoo could do about it. He just had to tough through it.

Moonbin nodded and guided Sanha’s head to rest on his shoulder.  “I’ll get him to sleep, just focus on Seongwoo,” he said as he brought Sanha to his room.  The toddler continued to whimper, but stayed calm as long as he was in Moonbin’s arms. Moonbin sat down on the edge of the bed and whispered to the toddler, desperately trying to get him to fall back asleep.

Jinwoo was glad that Sanha had at least stopped crying now that Moonbin was home. It made it much easier for him to get Seongwoo to finally fall asleep. Once the baby was down, Jinwoo made his way to Sanha’s room.

Moonbin looked up when Jinwoo entered the room.  Sanha still hadn’t quite fallen asleep so he didn’t want to stand up and risk setting the toddler off again.  “Hopefully he’ll fall asleep soon,” he said quietly.

“I’m sorry for this,” Jinwoo said tiredly, “you’ve had a long day then you had to come home and fight with a kid that isn’t even yours. I can take him; you should go eat something.”

“It’s fine, Jinwoo.  I really don’t mind,” Moonbin said assuredly, “he’s almost asleep.  I can eat after.” He looked up to smile softly at Jinwoo. He knew if he tried to move Sanha the toddler would start whining again and he’d much rather hold off eating to avoid another breakdown.

“He’s tired himself out at this point,” Jinwoo said, “even if he wakes up, he won’t run again. I can handle him from here, Bin, really.”

“Alright,” Moonbin said quietly as he gently handed Sanha over to Jinwoo.  He was much too tired to argue and slowly made his way from the bedroom, but not without one last look over his shoulder. He put his shoes by the door and heated up some leftovers for himself before taking a much needed hot shower.

Jinwoo reclined on the bed, holding Sanha to his chest. The boy had become a little whimpery again, but Jinwoo was able to actually calm him down this time. Within a few minutes, they were both asleep.

After his shower, Moonbin padded back into Sanha’s room to check in.  He smiled fondly when he saw the two of them asleep together. Moonbin debated leaving Jinwoo be, but he decided against it.  He knew it was a bit selfish to wake Jinwoo up so they could sleep together, but Sanha needed to start getting used to sleeping on his own.  Regretfully, Moonbin gently shook Jinwoo’s shoulder, coaxing him awake.

Jinwoo blinked himself awake when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. Looking up blearily, he saw Moonbin hovering over him. When he looked down, he saw that Sanha was fast asleep. Carefully, he shifted the boy off of his chest and tucked him in before taking Moonbin’s hand and leading him back to the master bedroom.

Moonbin allowed Jinwoo to lead him down the hallway and all but toppled into bed when they entered the bedroom.  He quickly settled down and reached out so that he could pull Jinwoo against him when he laid down.

Jinwoo settled against Moonbin easily, but he was too distracted to fall asleep. “I don’t understand why he’s being so difficult lately,” he said after a minute, “if it were the sleeping alone, I could understand, but he sleeps in there fine for you. It’s just...me.”

Moonbin sighed softly and forced his eyes back open.  “Don’t say that, baby, it’s not you. Between bringing Seongwoo home, me coming to live with you, and moving into the apartment he’s had a lot to adjust to recently.  He’s so young, he’s probably just overwhelmed. He might just need some time to get settled,” he said quietly. Sanha had really been the perfect kid up until recently and Moonbin hoped it was just that he needed time to adjust.

“He’s fine for you though,” Jinwoo said quietly, “it’s just me that he’s misbehaving for.” He had no idea what he had done to upset Sanha, but he hoped he would be able to fix it soon.

“Please don’t beat yourself up over this,” Moonbin said gently, “Maybe just try spending a little more time with him.  I know Seongwoo keeps you busy, but let’s just get through tomorrow and then I can take care of the baby for the weekend so you can focus on Sanha.”  Moonbin had no idea if that would work, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt to try.

“No, no, I can’t ask you to do that,” Jinwoo said, shaking his head. He couldn’t ask Moonbin to take on the burdens of an infant, no matter how much it would help him out.

“Why not?” Moonbin asked, “we’ll all be home together, but I’ll keep Seongwoo occupied.  I haven’t gotten to spend a lot of time with him anyway. Plus you aren’t asking me to do this; I’m offering.  I really think you and Sanha need some quality time together.”

“I’ve spent two years of quality time with Sanha,” Jinwoo said, grumpy, “every fucking spare minute of my life. Seongwoo is the one that needs attention now; Sanha’s gonna have to learn to wait his turn. I spoiled the kid and that’s my fault.” He didn’t want to keep talking about this anymore.

Moonbin didn’t want to make Jinwoo any more upset so he left the conversation drop.  He was too tired to do much else anyway. He snuggled closer to Jinwoo and allowed his hand to gently run up and down his side.  “Try to get some rest, Jinwoo, you need it,” he murmured.

Jinwoo nodded and closed his eyes. However, he couldn’t fall asleep. Not only did he feel bad about what he had said about Sanha, but he kept feeling like something was about to blow up in his face.

Moonbin fell asleep almost as soon as they were done talking.  He woke up feeling much more well rested and was glad that both boys had slept through the night.  Kissing Jinwoo on the temple before slipping out of bed had become a habit to Moonbin at this point, and he had no plans to give it up.  Although it was Friday, Moonbin’s day was not terribly unbearable and he luckily didn’t have to stay late again. “Jinwoo, I’m home,” he called cheerily when he walked in the door later that evening.  It was amazing how exhausting staying even a couple extra hours later at work could be.

“Sanha! You know you’re not allowed to shut this door! Yoon Sanha!” Jinwoo pounded on the bedroom door, glad that Seongwoo was at least occupied in the other room.

“Oh no,” Moonbin muttered to himself as he made his way down the hallway.  “Did he lock himself in there?” he asked as he hesitantly approached Jinwoo.

“Like an hour ago,” Jinwoo said with a huff, “I don’t even know what set him off this time, but I haven’t heard him moving around in a while and I...I’m scared, Bin.”

“I’m sure he’s okay,” Moonbin said as he moved to wrap Jinwoo in his arms.  He rubbed Jinwoo’s back for a moment before turning his attention to the door and knocking lightly.  “Sanha, it’s Moonbin. Can you open the door for me please? We want to make sure you’re okay.” Moonbin had no idea if the toddler would listen to him, but he placed an ear to the door, listening for any movement coming from the other side.

Jinwoo huffed and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground. “He’s been insufferable today. I was trying to change Seongwoo’s diaper before and he fucking stole the dirty fucking diaper and I still have no _fucking_ clue where he left it.”

“Be careful, the last thing you need is for him to learn swears too,” Moonbin chastised lightly.  Sanha was becoming quite the troublemaker lately and it never ceased to amaze Moonbin what stunts he would pull.  He knocked on the door again, a little louder this time. “Ok, Sanha, it’s time to open the door. This isn’t funny anymore,” he said sternly.

“Shouldn’t you have keys for all these doors?” Jinwoo asked. He hadn’t wanted to look through all of Moonbin’s drawers. It felt like an invasion of privacy. He was just so frustrated.

Moonbin jiggled the lock hopelessly one last time.  “I don’t know where they are,” he admitted sadly, “I haven’t ever needed them.”  He made his way to the kitchen anyway and started rifling through the junk drawer; he had no idea if the keys were in there but it didn’t hurt to look.

“Is there a fire escape? What about your landlord? Does he have a spare key?” Jinwoo asked, starting to get frantic. He needed to get to Sanha.

“Jinwoo, relax. The keys are probably in here somewhere, just give me a moment to find them,” Moonbin said.  He had already emptied about three quarters of the drawer. After another minute of searching, he found one of the spare keys and handed it to Jinwoo.  “Here, try this one.”

Jinwoo snatched the key and hurried back to try it in the door. He nearly cried in relief when it worked and the door opened. “Yoon Sanha! Don’t you _ever_ scare me like that again!” he said as he rushed inside.

Moonbin busied himself putting everything back in the drawer in a semi-organized fashion.  He left a small space in the front for the key just in case they needed it again. After giving Jinwoo and Sanha a few more minutes, he poked his head into the bedroom.  “Everything okay?” he asked.

Jinwoo was consoling a crying Sanha after the boy had haltingly explained that he didn’t know the door was locked and that he couldn’t figure out how to open it. He felt bad for yelling. After all, Sanha deserved his own space, and he hadn’t locked Jinwoo out on purpose.

Moonbin didn’t stay in the doorway long and instead disappeared into the kitchen to eat dinner, but not before peeking in on Seongwoo.  He felt bad that Sanha was scared, but he was glad that the toddler was okay.

Jinwoo finally managed to get Sanha to calm down by offering him a movie night in Moonbin’s big bed. “We have to ask first though,” he warned, knowing already that his boyfriend would be fine with it.

Moonbin put his plates in the sink and made his way back down the hallway.  “All better?” he asked when he went back to Sanha and Jinwoo.

“Ask him,” Jinwoo urged the toddler, who hid in his neck for a moment before turning to Moonbin. “Movie?” he asked quietly.

Moonbin beamed; the toddler was just so cute and he didn’t know anyone who could resist him.  “Absolutely! Why don’t you and uncle Jinwoo pick a movie to watch and I’ll go make some popcorn?”  He was excited; movie nights were one of his favorite things to do.

Jinwoo took Sanha over to Moonbin’s shelf of movies. The boy settled on Aladdin and Jinwoo put the movie in before making sure they were both comfortable. They watched the previews while waiting for Moonbin.

After making a bowl of popcorn, he headed to the bedroom.  Moonbin placed the bowl of popcorn on the bed before climbing next to Jinwoo.  “What did you pick?” he asked Sanha as he settled down and wrapped an arm around Jinwoo.

“Aladdin,” Jinwoo said, smiling as he looked down at Sanha settled on his lap. The baby was asleep on the other side of the room and things were calm for once.

“Good choice,” Moonbin said as he happily cuddled up to Jinwoo.  Sanha was much calmer now and he hoped the toddler would be able to fall asleep more easily tonight.  He stole a quick kiss from Jinwoo before turning his attention to the movie.

Jinwoo was surprised when Sanha wiggled his way off his lap to squeeze between him and Moonbin. He was evidently taking more of a liking to the younger man than he realized.

Moonbin smiled and backed away from Jinwoo so Sanha could fit comfortable between them.  “Hi snugglebug,” he whispered to the toddler as he settled himself down. He was sad the cuddling with Jinwoo was short lived, but he could make up for it after Sanha went to bed.

Sanha was out cold before Aladdin even got to the palace as Prince Ali. Jinwoo paused the movie and scooped the toddler up in his arms. He tucked him into his own bed and left the door open. “I don’t think he’ll try shutting the door any time soon,” he said as he got back into bed, “but could we take the lock off just in case?”

“Sure thing,” Moonbin replied, “I’ll take it off first thing in the morning.”  He happily snuggled up to Jinwoo and wrapped the smaller man in his arms. He pressed gentle kisses along Jinwoo’s jaw, letting his lips linger a little longer after each one.

"Thank you," Jinwoo said, glad that he would have some peace of mind that Sanha wouldn't get stuck again. God, toddlers were such a handful. He was exhausted.

Moonbin hummed against Jinwoo’s jaw in acknowledgment.  He finally tore his lips away so he could lay down properly.  He wasn’t particularly tired, but he knew Jinwoo had a long day and he didn’t want to keep him up any longer.

“What, all that and you’re not gonna give me a real kiss?” Jinwoo asked, turning toward Moonbin with a pout on his face. He was hoping that, with Sanha finally calmed down, they could actually have some mostly-alone time.

Moonbin chuckled and happily kissed Jinwoo’s pout.  He didn’t mind staying up a little later than usual, especially because he didn’t have to wake up for work in the morning.

Jinwoo sighed into the kiss and found his fingers playing with the hem of Moonbin’s t-shirt. Between moving and Sanha acting out, he had been too exhausted to do much of anything, so he was especially touch deprived now.

Moonbin hummed contently and tilted his head, deepening the kiss.  One of his hands wrapped around Jinwoo to pull him closer. He wasn’t worried about scaring Jinwoo off anymore and instead eagerly kissed him back.

Jinwoo found himself pushing closer and slipping his hand under Moonbin’s shirt. He nipped at the younger’s lower lip playfully.

Moonbin smirked into the kiss. Jinwoo was never this feisty and he wondered how long it would last.  He kissed Jinwoo for a few more moments before pulling away and kissing down the elder’s throat. Once he got to the junction of Jinwoo’s neck, he bit gently into the soft skin.

Jinwoo gasped when Moonbin bit into his neck and briefly dug his nails into the younger’s abdomen. “Take this off,” He panted.

Moonbin sucked in a breath when he felt Jinwoo’s nails dig into his stomach.  He pulled away from Jinwoo’s neck and stole a quick kiss as he sat up. He quickly slipped his shirt off and threw it onto the floor.  Leaning back down, he eagerly reattached his lips to spot he had just bitten and continued to suck on and nip at the sensitive skin.

Jinwoo groaned lowly as Moonbin abused the sensitive skin of his neck. His hand pressed flat against the younger’s stomach then fell lower to the waistband of his sweatpants.

Moonbin finally pulled away from Jinwoo’s neck to kiss his way back to his lips.  He let Jinwoo control the pace, but occasionally teased his tongue along the elder’s lower lip.  Meanwhile, his hands had busied themselves slowing pushing Jinwoo’s shirt up his torso.

Jinwoo finally pulled back, gasping for air. “The baby,” he said, “I’m not doing anything with the baby here.”

Moonbin’s frown quickly morphed into a smirk.  “The living room isn’t that far of a walk,” he said lowly.

Jinwoo slapped Moonbin’s chest lightly with a scoff. “We both need sleep,” he said, “besides, there’s plenty of things that we could make happen in the shower tomorrow morning.”

Moonbin’s eyes widened; he never thought he’d see the day when Jinwoo became so forward.  “I like the sound of that,” he said. He leaned down to kiss Jinwoo lazily for a few moments before pulling away.  “Let’s get some rest,” he said quietly.

Jinwoo was secretly glad that Moonbin had backed off for the night. As excited as he was to do stuff with Bin, there was a slight problem. Jinwoo was maybe, slightly, possibly, technically a virgin.

“Good night, babe,” Moonbin murmured.  He settled down and wrapped his arms around Jinwoo.  With a soft sigh Moonbin closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep; thoughts of what they could get up to in the shower tomorrow dancing through his mind.

Jinwoo settled into Moonbin’s arms and drifted off with a smile on his face. He hoped that the next few days would be easier to handle.

Moonbin blinked his eyes open and the first thing he noticed was the sunlight streaming through the window.  Suddenly, he began to panic; his thoughts from the evening prior had left him with a small problem to take care of. As quickly as he could, he slipped out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom, hoping Jinwoo wouldn’t wake up until he was out.  He turned on the shower and didn’t even wait for the water to get warm before stepping in.

Jinwoo woke to find himself alone. With a groan, he sat up and stretched. He peeked at Seongwoo and Sanha before quietly letting himself into the bathroom. He could hear Moonbin in the shower and remembered his promise from the night before. "Bin?"

Moonbin stood with his back to the stream of water and one arm against the shower wall.  He froze when he heard Jinwoo call his name. “I’ll be right out, Jinwoo,” he said shakily.

"Or," Jinwoo said slowly, "I could come in?" He was nervous, but he did genuinely want to do things with Moonbin. He was just a little anxious.

Moonbin’s heart was beating out of his chest and he was breathing heavily.  He wanted Jinwoo to join him, but he couldn’t help feeling nervous about the whole thing, especially considering his situation.  “Okay,” he finally said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

Jinwoo carefully undressed, rubbing at the goosebumps on his arms. Shyly, he pulled the curtain aside and stepped into the shower with Moonbin. He was so focused on his own nerves that he didn't even notice the younger's...problem.

Moonbin let out the breath he was holding when Jinwoo stepped into the shower.  He hummed appreciatively as he took in the elder’s naked form. Slowly, he reached out to pull Jinwoo closer to him and pressed a wet kiss against his lips.

Jinwoo tried not to think about how naked his boyfriend was, dutifully keeping his eyes away from Bin's lower half. He kissed Bin back happily, glad to close his eyes.

After a few moments, Moonbin slowly guided Jinwoo backwards until he was pressed against the wall.  “You okay?” he asked as he pulled away. He looked down at Jinwoo nervously, hoping he didn’t scare him by moving too fast.

Jinwoo gasped softly as his back hit the wall. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said quietly, "just a little nervous." It wasn't a lie; he felt like he'd combust if his eyes went any lower than Bin's chin.

Moonbin smiled softly.  “That’s okay, baby,” he murmured, “we’ll take it nice and slow.”  He slowly leaned back down to kiss Jinwoo again while one of his hands came up to rest on the elder’s waist.  

Jinwoo sighed into the kiss and brought his hands up to rest against Moonbin's chest. He liked the feel of his boyfriend's hands on him, holding him securely.

Moonbin stepped closer to Jinwoo, careful not to fully press against him.  His hand slid from Jinwoo’s waist to his back, picking him up off the wall slightly.  Foregoing the slow pace, Moonbin eagerly deepened the kiss, panting slightly.

Jinwoo groaned into the kiss, finally noticing Bin's erection as it pressed against his stomach. "Just from some kissing?" he teased.

Moonbin felt the heat rise in his cheeks, but was glad Jinwoo was finally relaxing.  He moved his lips so they rested against the shell of his boyfriend’s ear. “No,” he admitted slowly, “just from spending most of last night thinking about what we could get up to this morning.”  He let his lips slip to Jinwoo’s neck as he hand slid lower down his back.

Jinwoo shivered as Moonbin’s breath skated over his neck, followed by his lips. He flinched slightly as his boyfriend’s hand passed over the sore part of his back, but relaxed in his hold immediately after.

Moonbin froze when Jinwoo flinched.  He loosened his hold slightly and pulled away from his neck.  “Baby, are you okay?” he asked concernedly. His eyes darted nervously over Jinwoo’s face.

Jinwoo hummed and nodded. “I’m fine,” he said softly, “it’s just an old injury.” He had broken his back when he was in high school and the back-breaking work he’d picked up after graduation had kept it hurting constantly.

“An old injury?” Moonbin asked.  He reached back to shut the water off so he could hear Jinwoo properly.  “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have been more careful so I didn’t hurt you.”

“Oh, it always hurts,” Jinwoo said dismissively. He was shivering slightly now that the warm water was gone.

Moonbin sighed sadly.  “I wish I knew this before,” he mumbled, “Come on let’s get you dried off.  I’m sure the boys are wondering where we are.” He took Jinwoo’s hand in his own and guided him out of the shower.  After handing Jinwoo a towel, he wrapped another one around his own waist.

“They were still asleep when I checked on them,” Jinwoo said, “and you’ve still got a problem downstairs, Bin.” He took the towel and got out of the shower, but not without giving the younger a pointed look.

Moonbin chewed his lower lip; he didn’t want to hurt Jinwoo again, but he couldn’t help wanting some assistance from his boyfriend.  “Maybe you can help me and then we can check on the boys together,” he suggested lowly as he stepped closer to Jinwoo again.

Jinwoo bit his lip appreciatively and let his hands rest on Bin’s hips. He leaned closer, smirking with a burst of sudden confidence. “What I said last night got you this far,” he teased, “I’m sure it can finish you off.” With that, he was out the door and down the hall to check on the boys.

Moonbin stood frozen for a minute, stunned at what Jinwoo just said.  “You never cease to amaze me, Park Jinwoo,” he called after his boyfriend.  Dropping the towel to the floor, he stepped back into the shower to finally resolve his situation.

Jinwoo quickly returned to his room to get dressed. Once clothed, he lifted Seongwoo out of his crib and went to wake Sanha. It was breakfast time.

Fifteen minutes later, Moonbin finally emerged from the bathroom.  He was not going to let Jinwoo get away with his teasing and he just had to bide his time until he could enact his revenge.  Heading down the hallway, he followed the noise coming from the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe.

Sanha and Seongwoo were both at the table, asleep in their chairs. On the other side of the kitchen, Jinwoo worked away, making a full breakfast with ease. It was the one chore he could say he enjoyed.

Moonbin smiled softly when he saw the two boys asleep at the table before turning his attention to Jinwoo.  He watched him cook for a few moments, mesmerized by how natural everything looked to him. He still had a few good culinary schools’ websites bookmarked on his laptop, but he still wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up.  Eventually he made his way across the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Jinwoo’s waist as he rested his head on the elder’s shoulder.

Jinwoo smiled to himself when he felt Moonbin wrap around him. His boyfriend’s warmth blanketed his entire back, given their significant height difference, and it was really comforting.

“Where did you learn how to cook?” he asked.  He peered over Jinwoo’s shoulder and watched what he was doing carefully, trying to remember all of the steps but it was hopeless.  With a soft sight he gave up and resigned himself to simply watching.

“I taught myself,” Jinwoo said, “I’ve been on my own since I turned eighteen, so I had no choice. Trust me when I say it was a rocky start.” He had to laugh when he thought about how bad of a cook he was in the years past.

Moonbin sighed sadly and subconsciously tightened his arms.  “Have you ever thought about attending culinary school?” he asked gently.  He knew Jinwoo could easily get into one; he just wasn’t sure if he would be able to convince him to go.

“No,” Jinwoo said curtly, “I can’t afford daycare, let alone trade school. Don’t be ridiculous, Bin.” He knew exactly where his boyfriend’s mind was going to go and he was not in the mood.

“You know it doesn’t hurt to look.  There are some decent schools in the area,” Moonbin said, careful to avoid money any further.  He knew he should drop it, but he couldn’t that easily; Jinwoo deserved to be happy and Moonbin was damned if he wasn’t going to do everything in his power to make sure that happened.  If he could just persuade Jinwoo to look at schools in the area and he ended up liking one, it would be much easier to convince him to actually attend. At least that’s what Moonin hoped.

“Why?” Jinwoo said with a snort, “so I can get my hopes up before looking at the price tag? I don’t think so.” He couldn’t afford even the cheapest of schools, and he certainly wasn’t good enough to get a scholarship. He would just have to keep his skills at home.

“You don’t have to look a the price tag; just the school,” Moonbin said, chewing his bottom lip nervously.  He didn’t want to start an argument, but he wasn’t about to let this go so easily.

“Please be realistic, Bin,” Jinwoo said as he turned around to place the food on the table, “why put in the effort if it’s all gonna be for nothing?”

Moonbin finally unwrapped himself from Jinwoo’s waist when he turned around.  “How will this all be for nothing? Cooking is something you obviously enjoy and are quite good at.  With a little bit of schooling you could make easily a career out of it. A good career at that,” he said.

“And how am I supposed to pay for it, huh? They don’t just teach you for free, Bin,” Jinwoo said. He was starting to get annoyed. How could Moonbin be so blasé about that much money?

“I can help with the cost,” Moonbin said.  He quickly put up a hand to prevent Jinwoo from interrupting him.  “I know you don’t like that idea, but think about it, Jinwoo. You have the chance to make a career out of something you love to do.  I know you’ll be so much happier, you just have to let me help you. We are together after all and a big part of that is supporting each other.  I know it’s hard and I know you don’t want to depend of me for things, but can you at least promise me you’ll think about it?”

“And if something happens to us?” Jinwoo asked harshly, “I get halfway through and then suddenly I can’t pay anymore. I’m not doing it, Bin. End of discussion.” He slammed the plate on the table with a little more force than necessary, waking both boys.

Moonbin sighed sadly but promptly dropped it.  He didn’t want to give up on this, but he knew he would have to wait awhile before bringing it up again.  “I’m going to take the lock off Sanha’s door. I’ll be right back,” he said as he disappeared from the kitchen.

Jinwoo was actually kind of angry. What did Moonbin think he was? A golddigger? Some kind of convoluted sugar baby? Absolutely not. It was bad enough that he was letting the younger handle all of the rent. He would pay his own way, thank you very much.

Moonbin took his time carefully removing the locking mechanism from Sanha’s door and replacing the knob.  He felt bad that he made Jinwoo upset and he really didn’t want to spend the rest of the day like this. Slowly, he wandered his way back to the kitchen.  “I’m sorry to make you so upset,” he mumbled, “I know you don’t like to be dependent on people for money and I promise I won’t push anything like this again.”

Jinwoo sighed as he got out the formula to make Seongwoo a bottle. “Thank you,” he said sincerely, “someday I’ll tell you why it makes me so anxious.”

“I’ll be here whenever you’re ready,” Moonbin said softly as he slipped into his chair.  He wiped a bit of food from Sanha’s cheek with his thumb before turning his attention to his own breakfast.  He knew offering to take Seongwoo right now would be futile so resorted to watching Jinwoo feed the baby instead.

Jinwoo sat down, cradling Seongwoo as he fed the baby. It was hard to believe that he was already over a month old, that Jinwoo had had him for almost a month now. “Thank you,” he said softly.

Once Moonbin had finished breakfast his pushed his plate to the side and extended his arms to Jinwoo.  “I can take him so you can eat,” he said.

Jinwoo was too absorbed in watching Seongwoo and barely noticed Moonbin talking to him until he stopped. “What did you say? Sorry,” he said when he finally looked up.

Moonbin smiled softly.  “I just offered to take Seongwoo so you can eat,” he repeated.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Jinwoo said, “he’s almost done and I’m not hungry anyway.” Years of never eating breakfast had conditioned Jinwoo’s body to simply never be hungry in the morning.

“Alright,” Moonbin said with a soft sigh.  He busied himself washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen instead.  When he was done, he scooped up Sanha and brought the toddler into the living room.

It had been a slight lie; Seongwoo had a little over half the bottle left. Jinwoo got up and followed the other two into the living room. “Sanha, do you wanna help me feed Seongwoo?” he asked. He had come to realize that Sanha was struggling with a sudden deficit of attention. He had gone from Jinwoo’s sole focus to now having to compete with both Seongwoo and Moonbin, and it was making him act out.

Moonbin watched Sanha nod eagerly and helped the toddler off his lap.  He smiled fondly as Sanha settled himself next to Jinwoo and waited patiently for instructions.

Jinwoo lifted his arms, making space for Sanha to crawl into his lap. Once the boy was settled, he carefully arranged Seongwoo in his arms. Keeping one arm under Sanha’s, he helped him hold the bottle with the other.

Moonbin almost felt like he was interrupting a family moment, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave.  He turned sideways on the couch and rested his elbow on the back so he watch the trio. Never is a million years would Moonbin have ever expected to living with someone, let alone three people.  His smile grew wider as he continued to watch Jinwoo’s gentle expression and Sanha’s concentrated one.

Jinwoo was happy to hold both of his boys while Seongwoo ate. It was incredible to see how much they’d both grown, especially Sanha. Despite his recent behavior, he really was so good and Jinwoo couldn’t be more proud.

“Next thing you know Sanha’s not gonna to let you feed Seongwoo without him,” Moonbin commented quietly. It was adorable to watch the three of them together, and Moonbin wouldn’t trade this for the world.  Even though Jinwoo and he hadn’t been together that long, he couldn’t even begin to imagine life without him and the boys.

“That’s okay,” Jinwoo said, “he’s always been my little helper anyway.” Even though Sanha couldn’t do all that much - he was only two, after all - he never seemed to get tired of spending time with Jinwoo, and his uncle would take it while he could. Lord knows a decade down the line, things would be very different.

“He’s a great helper,” Moonbin murmured.  He found his gaze drifting from Seongwoo and Sanha to Jinwoo.  His eyes slowly wandered around his boyfriend’s face. It was crazy to think about everything that they had been through and Moonbin couldn’t wait for more moments like this in the future.

  
  



End file.
